The bi-annual Bayt.com Job Index survey answers all these questions and more, shedding light on the employment outlook in the Middle East. The report aims to provide information to companies about the hiring plan and preference of employers in the coming months, and empower professionals with knowledge on the most sought-after skills, so they can work on developing them to have the upper hand when looking for new career opportunities.
Some findings:
Three-fifths say that they will be hiring in the next3 months. Plans to hire in the next3 months are higher in the GCC, with37% ‘definitely’ hiring, compared to30% in the Levant and29% in North Africa.
65% of those who plan to hire in the next3 months indicate that they would be hiring for up to10 positions.
Seven in10 state that they would be hiring in a year’s time. The plans for hiring in a year’s time shows more positive results amongst the GCC countries, with37% ‘definitely’ hiring after12 months, compared to30% in Levant and North Africa.
Over three-fifths (64%) of working respondents state that their companies have hired new employees within the past6 months.
A degree in Business Management (27%) followed by an Engineering degree (25%), a Commerce degree (23%) and Administrative qualifications (20%) are the most sought-after academic qualifications when looking for a candidate.
Good communication skills in Arabic and English (65%) is by far the top skill that employers look for in a candidate. Being a team player follows at48%.
Data for the Bayt.com Middle East Job Index Survey was collected online between December8,2015 and January21,2016, with a total of1,232 online interviews conducted with respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Pakistan.
