The survey also indicated that internships are generally well regarded in the MENA region as an opportunity for gaining valuable work experience and expanding skillsets. A whopping92% of respondents believe that internships increase fresh graduates’ chances of getting a job after college.
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com says: “Through internships, students gain hands-on experience of the professional world by performing tasks and duties usually conducted by employees in the chosen field. Our latest survey shows that employers can also benefit from interns in a number of ways, from accessing new talent and skills to increasing productivity. In addition, the data reveals that internships can serve as a bridge between educational institutions and employers.”
Top Hiring Industries
Internship opportunities are essential to employment with MENA organizations hiring more interns, investing in quality programs and working harder to bring them back as employees -65% of MENA companies always offer a full-time job to the intern whilst19% sometimes offer a position after the internship is complete. Further, the survey revealed the industries that hire the highest number of interns – which include Customer Service (24%), Digital Marketing (22%), HR and Recruiting (21%), Information Technology (17%), Accounting, Banking and Finance (10%) and Graphic Design (8%).
Most In-Demand Skills
The market for interns is getting more competitive, so employers are investing more than ever before. When hiring interns, the most important skills companies look for are communication and teamwork skills (61%), creativity (16%), research and analytical skills (13%) and time management (10%).
The Value of Internships
Internship opportunities give interns a chance to develop work competencies and professional skills and gain experience that would facilitate their academic, career, and personal development. For the organization, the key benefits of hiring interns include identifying talent for future positions (70%), completing less demanding projects at low cost (11%), quickly filling temporary and seasonal positions (11%) and having extra help for small teams or departments (9%).
The Role of Universities
Employers are also broadening their offering to students as66% of respondents say that their university requires them to complete an internship or practical training while49% reveal that they will accept an unpaid internship. Respondents say that universities can help their graduates get an internship by offering job search courses (40%), partnering with companies to create more internship programs (34%), posting internship opportunities on job sites online (17%) and organizing on-campus job fairs (10%).
Data for the Internships in the MENA survey was collected online from January6 to February3,2023. Results are based on a sample of2,404 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Sudan among others.