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 Banking / Finance and Government / Civil Service are among the most attractive industries in Saudi Arabia in2017.
Health/ Medical Services emerged as the most attractive industry for women, according to36% of Saudi respondents. This was followed by Education/ Academia (33%), and Banking and Finance (22%).
Most Attractive Industries
Government/ Civil Service industry was voted as the industry with the highest job security according to29% of Saudi respondents. Almost one fifth of those surveyed (19%) said that the Military/ Defense/ Police sector has high job security.
21% Saudi respondents claim that the Banking and Finance industry offers the “best salary packages” while14% said the same about the Engineering and Design industry.
In terms of the “best work-life balance,”22% of Saudi respondents claim that Government/ Civil Service is the top industry in this regard.
Most Stressful Industries
Real Estate and Construction emerged as the most stressful industry for19% of Saudi respondents. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals was also perceived as the most stressful industry by17% of respondents. On the other hand, Agriculture/ Forestry (3%), Pharmaceuticals (4%) and Tourism (4%) were reportedly among the least stressful industries in Saudi Arabia.
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals tops the list for the longest working hours, according to21% of Saudi respondents, followed by Healthcare / Medical services (19%) and the Manufacturing industry (14%).
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.”
Current/ Most recent Industry Satisfaction
When looking at how satisfied Saudi respondents are with their current/ most recent salary packages,45% of respondents claimed that they are satisfied with this aspect, inclusive of non-monetary benefits.
Two thirds (66%) of Saudi respondents are satisfied with their working hours, more than half (56%) are satisfied with their work culture,54% are satisfied with their work-life balance, and50% are satisfied with their job security.
In terms of training and development,45% of Saudi respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them and44% of them claim to be satisfied with their career growth.
Switching Industries
Another major finding of the survey is that more than a quarter of Saudi respondents (26%) have changed industries in the last year. Better salaries (39%), better career growth opportunities (32%), and fulfilling their life ambitions (26%) are the top three reasons for their change.
Almost half of those surveyed in Saudi Arabia (48%) are considering an industry change in the next few months.55% of them are seeking a better salary, while45% 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.