Demand in sustainable energy and digital infrastructure projects have resulted in a two per cent rise in online recruitment in engineering and production professionals in August, compared to last year, says a report.

According to the Monster Employment Index (MEI), engineering and production are the only professions to register growth in August 2016 as low oil prices linger and the nation gears up for national events like Expo 2020 and initiatives like the UAE Vision 2021.

“It not surprising that the demand for engineering and production talent is increasing as these workers will play a large role in developing the infrastructure for strategic government investments like the Clean Energy Plan 2050 aiming at generating up to 75 per cent of energy needs from renewable sources by 2050,” said Sanjay Modi, managing director, Monster.com, APAC & Middle East. “This has become particularly visible in the Dubai education sector where the country’s move towards new energy supply is made possible through the 'Dubai Solar Schools' initiative – a programme which aims to transform 100 schools and universities into so-called solar schools.”

Such smart building solutions come hand-in-hand with the UAE realising its 2021 vision, resulting in continuous growth in online career opportunities in the IT and telecommunication industry; up by four per cent in August as compared to the same period a year ago.

“As part of its plans to source alternative energy, the UAE is also moving towards a diversified economy through its 2021 vision. Not surprisingly then the country’s economic diversification strategy has resulted in more opportunities in the IT and telecommunications industry as well. Opportunities created in this sector range from industry specialists such as big data professionals and software developers, to management and support roles needed to maintain the advancements in progress.”

Despite a 24 per cent annual dip in UAE job opportunities listed online in August 2016, the MEI also reveals optimistic results across consumer goods/ FMCG, food and packaged food, home appliance, garments/ textiles/ leather, gems & jewellery, with 20 per cent year-on-year growth in online job posts in the UAE. IT and Telecom/ISP registered four per cent growth year-on-year, while production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary grew by three per cent when compared to the same period a year ago.

The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity in Middle-East based on a real-time review of tens of thousands of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career Web sites and online job listings. The Index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.

From the GCC countries analysed, the latest MEI records that Bahrain and Oman are the only nations to register year-on-year growth in August 2016 with a 14 per cent increase in online recruitment activity observed in Bahrain, followed by eight per cent in Oman. - TradeArabia News Service