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 Qatari respondents are satisfied with their working hours,61% are satisfied with their work culture,57% are satisfied with their work-life balance, and56% are satisfied with their job security.
In terms of training and development,58% of Qatari respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them and half are satisfied with their career growth.
Most Attractive Industries
28% of Qatari respondents said that the Government/ Civil Service industry is the most attractive for local talent.16% said the same thing about the Military/ Defense/ Police sector.
Health/ Medical Services emerged as the most attractive industry for women, according to29% of Qatari respondents. This was followed by Banking and Finance (26%), and the Hospitality/ Recreation/ Entertainment sector (22%).
Banking and Finance emerged as the most attractive industry for fresh graduates, according to19% of Qatari respondents.
Most Stressful Industries
Real Estate/ Construction/ Property Development emerged as the most stressful industry for21% of Qatari respondents. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals was also perceived as the most stressful industry by19% of respondents. On the other hand, Pharmaceuticals (2%), Tourism (3%) and Automotive (3%) were reportedly among the least stressful industries in Qatar.
Real Estate/ Construction/ Property Development also tops the list for the longest working hours, according to21% of Qatari respondents, followed by Engineering/ Design (17%), Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (15%), as well as Hospitality/ Recreation/ Entertainment (15%).
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 almost half of those surveyed in Qatar (48%) are considering an industry change in the next few months.54% of them are seeking a better salary, while49% 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.