The most recent “Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa” Survey, compiled by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, and YouGov, research and consulting group, revealed that two thirds (66%) of Kuwaiti respondents are satisfied with their working hours, and62% are satisfied with their work culture.
More than half of Kuwaiti respondents (58%) are satisfied with their job security and54% are satisfied with their work-life balance.
When looking at salary packages,45% of respondents claimed that they are satisfied with this aspect, inclusive of non-monetary benefits.
In terms of training and development,53% of Kuwait respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them and more than half of respondents in Kuwait claim to be satisfied with their career growth.
Most Attractive Industries
Banking/ Finance/ Accounting emerged as the most attractive industry for women, according to32% of Kuwaiti respondents. This was followed by Education/ Academia (27%), and Healthcare/Medical services (26%).
20% of respondents said that Banking/ Finance/ Accounting is the most attractive for “local talent” while18% said the same thing about Government / Civil Service.
Banking/ Finance/ Accounting was also voted the most attractive for “fresh graduates.” This was followed by IT/ Internet/ E-commerce (16%) and Government/ Civil Service (15%).
Most Stressful Industries
Banking/ Finance/ Accounting as well as Oil/ Gas/ Petrochemicals emerged as the most stressful industries for21% of Kuwaiti respondents. Commerce/ Trade and Retail was also perceived as the most stressful industry by12% of respondents.
Oil/ Gas/ Petrochemicals tops the list for the longest working hours, according to21% of Kuwaiti respondents, followed by Hospitality/ Recreation/ Entertainment (18%).
Suhail Masri, Vice President of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com, said: “It is eye-opening to find out which industries the region’s professionals favor working in, as it is easy to rely on false impressions. More and more professionals are becoming satisfied with their job attributes, be it training opportunities or compensation or work culture. Yet, many are on the lookout for new and better career opportunities. We encourage all job seekers to make use of our website and access more than12,000 jobs that are available on Bayt.com today.”
Switching Industries
Another major finding of the survey is that a quarter of Kuwaiti respondents (25%) have changed industries in the last year and almost half (47%) are considering an industry change in the next few months.58% of respondents are seeking a better salary while56% are seeking better career growth.
Masri adds: “We regularly advice the region’s employers to pay attention to the factors influencing employee attrition and work with us to strengthen their employer brand and their retention efforts. Our aim is to always enrich the region’s job market and empower its professionals by offering the most updated information, such as this survey, and the most powerful tools for job seekers and employers alike.”
“Respondents are evidently keen to find and maintain career opportunities that satisfy their professional and personal needs,” said Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov. “This is why this survey is so insightful; it provides all professionals in the MENA region with more direction, as to which job attributes are valued the most and which fields of work are excelling in providing them.”
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey was conducted between February23 and March7,2017 with7,162 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.