Three in every four UAE employers (78 per cent) are planning to hire in the next three months, and the jobs outlook continues to improve as 86 per cent of employers are planning to hire in the coming year, a report said.

Over seven in 10 working respondents (71 per cent) claim that their company has hired new employees in the last 6 months, with 56 per cent having hired new employees in the last 3 months, added the latest Mena Job Index Survey from Bayt.com, a top job site in the Middle East, and global online market research company YouGov.

Looking ahead, over six in 10 UAE employers who plan to hire over the next three months expect to fill up to 10 different jobs. The remaining companies will hire for 11 to 20 jobs (6 per cent), 21 to 50 jobs (8 per cent), and more than 51 jobs (12 per cent).

Overall, the hiring index in the Mena region has increased by 12 points showing significant growth in hiring activity when compared to the past year.

Hiring intentions in Mena

The outlook looks positive for job seekers across the Mena region as three in every four (73 per cent) employers plans to make new hires in the next three months, and more so in the UAE (78 per cent).Overall, hiring intentions by sector remain consistent. Notably, 76 per cent of multinational companies as well as small-medium local companies plan to hire in three months. In regards to hiring potential by industry, automotive (84 per cent) and real estate/ construction/ property development (81 per cent) demonstrated the highest intention of hiring in the short term.

As we look to the coming year, the outlook continues to be positive with almost nine in 10 Mena respondents claiming that they will be hiring across the private sector (88 per cent) and 84 per cent will be hiring for the public sectors. Jobseekers will be pleased to know that in the coming year, hiring intention across many sectors is extremely positive, and real estate/ construction/ property development (97 per cent), and domestic services (94 per cent) will be hiring the most.

Roles and experience

The majority of UAE companies will be hiring junior and mid-career positions, with maximum requirement emerging for junior executive (44 per cent). This is followed by manager (35 per cent), senior executive (33 per cent), and coordinator (33 per cent).Still, some companies are looking to fill top management positions, with35 per cent looking to hire C-Suite or managing director positions.

Sales executive (30 per cent), accountant (29 per cent), and project manager (23 per cent) emerged among the top roles that UAE respondents are hiring for overall. This is followed by sales manager (22 per cent), director (marketing, project management) (20 per cent), and finance analyst (20 per cent).

Forty-one per cent of UAE responses are looking for mid-level experience (3-7 years), nearly four in 10 UAE respondents state that they are looking for candidates with sales and marketing experience (38 per cent), while 34 per cent are searching for those with managerial experience and a quarter want IT/computer experience (25 per cent).

When it comes to skill sets in UAE, good communication skills in both the English and Arabic languages are highly sought after (52 per cent). This is followed by being a team player (47 per cent), good leadership skills (45 per cent), and having the ability to work under pressure (44 per cent).

Business management (32 per cent) and commerce (28 per cent) are most sought-after academic qualifications amongst employers in the UAE, followed by engineering (22 per cent), science qualifications (18 per cent), computer science (17 per cent) and administrative qualifications (17 per cent).

Industries attracting top talent

Real estate/construction/property development (34 per cent) emerges as the industry that attracts top talent across the UAE. This is followed by advertising/marketing/public relations (32 per cent), banking and finance (30 per cent), engineering/design (26 per cent), IT (24 per cent), business consultancy (23 per cent), and telecommunications (21 per cent).

Banking and finance emerges as the main industry attracting national talent (34 per cent) and fresh graduates (34 per cent). This is followed by advertising, marketing and public relations (30 per cent for national talent and 30 per cent for fresh graduates). When it came to female talent, advertising, marketing and public relations was considered the most attractive (46 per cent), followed by banking and finance (38 per cent), healthcare/ medical services (34 per cent), and human resources (30 per cent).

“Our goal at Bayt.com is to arm job seekers with the tools needed to thrive in today’s increasingly competitive job market. The question of job availability and requirements across the region and different industries matters to all professionals,” said Suhail Masri, vice president of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.

“The results of our latest survey indicate that employment opportunities will most likely increase and many will be geared towards the younger generation who are looking for entry-level positions. For them to increase their eligibility, young job seekers need to focus on fine-tuning their communication and leadership skills, and can tap into the various tools offered on Bayt.com that are designed to improve their skills and differentiate them from the competition.

“We are proud to be able to provide tens of thousands of jobs on a daily basis and to connect many companies and organizations to our database of more than 33 million CVs.”

“It is refreshing to note that hiring across the region is on an upward trajectory. Hiring intentions are a measure of the economic wellbeing of the region, and also a reflection of the growing competitive environment that will drive job performance,” said Kerry McLaren, director – Data Services at YouGov Mena. - TradeArabia News Service