31August2018: The latest MENA Job Index Survey from Bayt.com, the number one job site in the Middle East, and global online market research company, YouGov, indicates that hiring intentions in the Middle East are on the rise.
Overall, the hiring index in the MENA region has increased by12 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%) employers plans to make new hires in the next three months. Overall, hiring intentions by sector remain consistent. Notably,76% 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%) and real estate/ construction/ property development (81%) 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 in10 MENA respondents claiming that they will be hiring across the private sector (88%) and84% 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%), and domestic services (94%) will be hiring the most.
Roles and experience
The majority of Qatar companies will be hiring junior and mid-career positions, with maximum requirement emerging for junior executive (45%). This is followed by coordinator (38%) and executive (31%). Still, some companies are looking to fill top management positions, with6% looking to hire C-Suite and managing director positions.
Sales manager (24%) and sales executive (21%), and administrative assistant (21%) emerged among the top roles that Qatar respondents are hiring for overall. This is followed by customer service representative (19%), receptionist (19%) and HR professional (19%).
Nearly half of Qatar respondents state that they are looking for candidates with sales and marketing experience (45%),35% want mid-level experience (3-7 years), while a third are searching for those with managerial experience. When it comes to skill sets in Qatar, good communication skills in both the English and Arabic languages are highly sought after (67%). This is followed by being a team player (55%), having the ability to work under pressure (49%), and good leadership and negotiation skills (each at41%).
Engineering (35%) and business management (31%) are the most sought-after academic qualifications amongst employers in Qatar, followed by administrative qualifications (24%), commerce (22%), IT (18%) and hospitality qualifications (18%).
Industries attracting top talent
Oil, gas and petrochemicals (39%) emerges as the industry that attracts top talent across Qatar. This is followed by real estate and construction (36%), healthcare and medical (34%), engineering and design (32%), and banking and finance (30%).
Healthcare and medical services, as well as government and civil services emerge as the main industries attracting national talent (36%), while fresh graduates are most attracted to banking and finance (36%) and advertising, marketing and public relations (34%). When it came to female talent, education and academia was considered the most attractive (50%), followed by healthcare and medical services (45%) and advertising, marketing and public relations (38%).
“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. 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,” said Suhail Masri, Vice President of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. “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 than33 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.
Data for the August2018 Middle East Job Index Survey was collected online from31st May2018 to31st July2018. Results are based on a sample of1,709 respondents,1,505 of whom were of working status, from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and Pakistan.