Dubai, UAE,30 July2018: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is one of the most youthful regions in the world. Hence, there is a large number of fresh graduates that are seeking entry level jobs every day. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, a survey by Bayt.com and YouGov entitled “Fresh Graduates in the MENA” revealed that two in three fresh graduates (66%) believe that their educational background had prepared them for finding a job in their industry of choice.
When looking for a job, nearly7 in10 MENA respondents (67%) used or planned to use leading online job sites, followed by social media sites (55%) and direct applications to target companies (48%). The nature of the job/being passionate about the job emerges as the single most important factor for respondents when selecting a job. The same is true across all countries in the MENA region.
Most Attractive Industries
In the MENA region, banking/finance (21%), engineering/design (21%),and business consultancy (19%) emerge as the most appealing industries from a career point of view, followed by IT/Internet/e-commerce (18%), advertising/marketing/public relations (17%) and education/academia (17%). The industries that are hiring the highest proportions of fresh graduates according to respondents include military/defense/police (24%), advertising/marketing/public relations (20%), and banking/finance (15%).
Lower expectations on salary (44%) is the main reason why respondents believe that some industries hire more fresh graduates than others, followed by more willingness to follow instructions (33%). Conversely, three in five fresh graduates claim that the lack of needed experience is the main reason why some industries are more hesitant to hire them.
Finding a Job in MENA
Three in five MENA graduates claim they acquired work experience during or before their time in college and university, and more than half (53%) had worked for a period of up to six months. When asked which skills they believe are required to excel in the workplace, respondents mentioned computer skills (60%) as most important, followed by linguistic skills (40%). When it comes to personal skills, respondents rate themselves highly across all skills.
Still, finding a job (78%), saving money (40%), and being able to financially afford a basic lifestyle (38%) are the top challenges for fresh graduates in MENA today.
Across the region, taking a long time to find a job in chosen field (50%) is the most common reason why respondents are not employed in their field of study. When asked what they will do if they do not find a job in their exact target job role/industry, almost half (47%) of the fresh graduates said they will keep looking until they do, while on-third (36%) said they will start looking into another role/industry of their choice.
“The job market is highly competitive today, and at entry level, due to the high numbers of young people across the region, competition is especially rife. To stand out, fresh graduates need to focus on fine-tuning both their transferable skills and leadership prowess, via hands-on internship experiences or specialized courses. Ultimately, our goal at Bayt.com is to arm these graduates with the right tools needed to thrive in today’s ever-evolving employment sector. In fact, our job site features thousands of employment opportunities especially catered to fresh graduates. Entry-level candidates can also tap into different tools on Bayt.com that are designed to improve their skills and increase their professional knowledge,” said Suhail Masri, VP Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.
The Role of Higher Education
While MENA graduates are generally satisfied with the education they receive, many are finding it difficult to find their first job. The main reasons for these challenges are lack of previous work experience (51%), and not knowing how to approach the job search effectively (42%).
Seven in10 respondents from MENA (67%) considered the availability of jobs in their field of study before deciding on their degree. However, for three in four MENA respondents, their college did not help them identify or apply for a suitable job. For the remaining25%, their college helped in a number of ways including career days (36%) and job announcements (35%).
Across the region, engineering was the most popular subject amongst fresh graduates (22%), followed by accounting/finance (15%) and business/commerce/economics (14%). Other popular areas of study included information technology/computer sciences (13%), sciences (8%), and arts and literature/fine arts (7%).
“The recent survey suggests that, while graduates are getting a good and satisfactory education, they are facing serious challenges in their first job hunt. While academic performance is key, fresh graduates also need to rely on extrinsic skills development, work placement and search tools to connect with employers of choice and break into their industry. Even if these tools aren’t offered by the educational institution, job seekers have plenty of online job sites and tools that prepare them for their career journey,” said Kerry McLaren, Head of Omnibus MENA, YouGov.
Research was done with1293 graduates, who had completed their most recent qualification in the last three years, and was conducted from22 May until28 June2018, from the KSA, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, UAE, Morocco, Sudan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Qatar, and Bahrain. All responses were collected online.