The Bayt.com2015 ‘Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading career site, and market research agency YouGov, has found that, when pursuing their first job,77% of fresh graduates living in the UAE used or plan to use leading online job sites. The majority of respondents state that finding a job is the biggest challenge of their generation; in line with this,74% are leaning towards entrepreneurship as a potential future career option.
The study has also revealed that29% of UAE respondents obtained their most recent qualification in the UAE, followed by India, at28%. The two most common fields of study pursued by respondents were engineering (28%) and accounting/finance (21%). Most graduates living in the UAE (74%) were satisfied with the quality of higher education they received; in fact,60% consider the preparation it gave them for the workplace to be ‘very good’ or ‘good’. Qualification of teachers (83%), curriculum (74%), teaching methods applied (71%), quality of infrastructure (68%), technology usage (66%), and value for money paid (65%), are also rated positively by UAE respondents.
A third of fresh graduates living in the UAE (34%) do not feel that they would have fared better in the job market if they had chosen a different major or different school, with66% admitting to having considered the job availability in the field they chose to major in prior to enrolment. In contrast,29% of working UAE respondents ended up working in a totally different industry.
For almost half of UAE respondents (48%), the most important attribute when selecting a job is experience in the field they want to work in. While most UAE respondents (77%) rely on leading online job sites to search for employment opportunities, direct applications to target companies (58%) and a resourceful network of family and friends (56%) are also highly valued and used.
Up to44% of fresh graduates living in the UAE state that landing their first job was/will be ‘very difficult’. Most respondents (75%) feel that the biggest challenge they face in finding a job is the fact that employers are looking for candidates with previous experience. Knowing where to find relevant jobs and how to approach the job search effectively are also considered to be challenges by38% and32% of them, respectively.
17% of UAE respondents claim that it took/ will take less than3 months for them to find their first job. For33% of them, the job search lasted/ will last between3 and12 months, while only6% got or are expecting to get a job directly through campus placements. A third of UAE respondents (33%) stayed or anticipate staying in their first job for1-2 years.
Salary expectations for fresh graduates living in the UAE are high;23% expect to receive/have received between US$2001-3000, while19% anticipate a salary between US$1,001-1,500. A large portion (86%) of UAE respondents expect to be offered/were offered a basic salary.52% are also looking to receive/have received personal medical insurance and41% anticipate both a housing and transport allowance.40% expect a personal annual air ticket.
According to73% of UAE respondents, their college or university did not help them identify job opportunities. Overall,59% of graduates living in the UAE acquired work experience either before or during their time at university.
The survey has revealed that70% of UAE respondents are planning to pursue higher education, with the UK (32%) being the most popular destination to do so outside of their country of residence, followed by the US (30%). Graduates are also eager to travel abroad for employment purposes, with65% saying that they might consider moving elsewhere for a job.
When asked what challenges fresh graduates face the most,36% disclosed that discovering what they wanted to do in life is difficult while34% said that saving money is a major challenge for them.68% claim that there is a low availability of jobs for fresh graduates in the UAE. However,58% are optimistic that their generation has better career and educational opportunities in comparison to their parents’ generation.
When it comes to industries that seem to be hiring the highest number of fresh graduates, UAE respondents listed advertising/marketing (28%), followed by banking/finance (21%), and construction/property development (17%). According to58% of respondents, these industries employ fresh graduates because graduates have lower salary expectations;33% believe that the reason behind that is the fact that young graduates are compliant and willing to follow instructions.
On the other hand,74% of respondents believe that companies are hesitant to hire fresh graduates because these graduates may lack the needed on-the-job experience.
54% of fresh graduates living in the UAE consider communication skills to be among the most important skills required to excel in the workplace, followed by computer skills (48%), and academic and technical skills (41%).
Fresh graduates in the UAE consider their skills in negotiation (51%), leadership (49%), linguistics (44%), communications (44%), problem-solving and analytical thinking (48%), academic and technical skills (59%), and computers (44%) to be ‘good’. Moreover, they consider themselves to have ‘very good’ interpersonal and team playing skills (48%), and flexibility (46%).
“The2015 Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa survey reveals that finding a job of their liking is proving difficult for fresh graduates in the UAE,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. “While most of these young job seekers firmly believe that their lack of experience is what is jeopardizing their job search, results from our extensive research into the MENA region’s employment sector disagree with that assumption. The truth is, employers in the UAE are increasingly tapping into the graduate talent pool; they are looking for capable individuals who can seamlessly transition from academia to industry, regardless of their level of experience.”
Masri also added: “For them to increase their eligibility, young job seekers 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. Bayt.com Specialties is a platform where anyone can ask and answer questions related to their field and professional specialties, and get ranked based on their interactions. Bayt.com Tests is also a great way for fresh grads to test and display their knowledge!”
Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov MENA, echoed that statement, adding: “It is great to know that so many young graduates who are trying to find a job are also considering embarking on the entrepreneurial route in the future. Today, entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in a country’s economic development; it can spur growth, innovation, and, of course, job creation. And this can, in turn, help shape the future of employment here in the UAE.”
Data for the Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa survey was collected online from June8-182015, with1,006 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.