MENA,21 April2019: Most MENA employers demand ‘good communication in English and Arabic’ as well as ‘being a team player’ as top skills for their hires this year, according to research by Bayt.com and YouGov.
“Hiring activities never stop across the region or on our job site,” said Omar Tahboub, General Manager of Bayt.com. “Employers are making many job opportunities available on Bayt.com and they are revealing which qualifications are most useful so that job seekers can plan and upgrade their skills accordingly. At all time, we are available as the #1 hiring partner for40,000+ companies, organizations, and governments, as well as the tool for job search and career planning for36 million professionals.”
High Demand: Skills, Job Roles, and Academic Qualifications
Candidates’ skills that are in demand in the region this year include good communication in Arabic and English (63%) as the top skill, followed by being a team player (51%) and having a great overall personality and demeanor (44%).
Regarding educational and academic qualifications, ‘Business Management’ (29%) and ‘Engineering’ (26%) are the most sought-after academic qualifications amongst employers in the MENA region.
For employers looking to hire, nearly4 in10 state that they are looking for candidates with managerial skills, while33% are searching for those with sales and marketing skills and31% want candidates with mid-level (3-7 years) experience.
Jobs Ahead
In the MENA region, English and Arabic are the most sought-after languages employers hire for in combination with other core skills like teamwork. The most in-demand jobs for people with a bilingual skill set in the coming three months will be for ‘sales executives’ (23%), ‘accountants’ (19%), ‘sales managers’ (16%), ‘project managers’ (14%), and ‘marketing executives’ (13%).
Looking at specific roles companies are looking to fill in the next three months in the GCC, the most common positions are reported to be ‘sales executives’ (27%), ‘accountants’ (18%) and ‘sales managers’ (17%). In the Levant: ‘accountant’ (21%), ‘sales executive’ (17%) and ‘project manager’ (14%). In North Africa and Egypt: ‘accountant’ (21%), ‘sales executive’ (18%) and ‘craftsman’ (17%).
In terms of industries with the highest hiring potential to hire in the next three months, the reported industries are ‘HR’, ‘Advertising / Marketing / Public Relations’, and ‘Healthcare / Medical Services’.
Proactive hiring in the long-term
By highlighting the added advantage of learning and becoming proficient in a language, teamwork and other soft skills, candidates can demonstrate that they have gained abilities for real business needs: multitasking and perception. These are most useful in industries that are most likely to hire: namely ‘HR’ (84% are planning to hire), ‘Advertising / Marketing / Public Relations’ (75% are planning to hire), ‘Manufacturing’ (73% are planning to hire), and ‘Hospitality / Recreation’ (71% are planning to hire).
Banking/ Finance emerges as the main industry attracting national talent and fresh graduate talent, while Advertising/ Marketing/ Public Relations attracting top female talent.
“Our research is a key indicator of the MENA region’s hiring activities. A higher probability for hiring with private sector multinational companies can be observed with most companies looking for good communication skills in Arabic and English as the top skill for potential candidates. In addition to providing an overview of current market trends, the findings will have practical significance for employers and HR making their short and long term plans,” said Kerry McLaren, Head of Omnibus MENA at YouGov.
*Data was collected online from Jan10,2019 and Feb25,2019. Results are based on a sample of1,107 respondents,901 of whom were of working status, from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, and others.