A recent Bayt.com "Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa" survey conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, and YouGov, a research and consulting organization, has shown that respondents in Jordan consider the banking and finance industry to be the most preferable for employment. IT and telecom careers are also thought of highly and show most promising growth, while women are predominantly interested in education and academia.
In Jordan,41% of employed respondents are satisfied with the salary package in their current industry, while44% are satisfied with their ability to maintain a good work-life balance. They are also generally content with the potential for career growth (with34% being satisfied); job security (49%); working hours (60%); and training and development opportunities (41%).56% are happy with their current work culture, which shows that the Jordan work environment is a happy one.
The best salary packages in Jordan are perceived to be in banking and finance (29%). Government jobs are seen as being the best for maintaining a good work-life balance (36%), followed by education and academia (34%) and banking and finance (31%). IT, electronics and telecommunications offers the best potential for career growth according to the majority of respondents (33%), with banking and finance coming second (30%). The highest levels of job security are seen to be in government positions (50%), though there is also a perceived high degree of security in military, defence, police and security services (38%), and education and academia (20%).
Respondents believe that the most stressful industries are banking and finance (23%), military, defence, police and security services (21%) and healthcare (20%). Transportation is considered to have the longest working hours by a quarter of respondents (24%). Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com, said: “It’s easier than ever before to find jobs in different industries. On Bayt.com we currently have an average of10,000 vacancies every day across industries, job roles, and career levels. In addition to posted jobs, there is a universe of hidden jobs, where employers fill thousands of unadvertised vacancies using the Bayt.com CV Search leading technology. Besides posting their CVs, Bayt.com professionals can now showcase their skills, merits and interests on the Bayt.com Specialties platform which supports a constant career dialogue and a wealth of opportunity to be recognized by potential employers, clients and peers in the industry. There are over80,000 specialties on Bayt.com Specialties today growing rapidly due to the popularity and depth of Bayt.com's unique new value proposition and we see this new realm for career advancement as the new frontier of recruitment and certainly the definition of where the vanguard of the online recruitment business is today."
Women in Jordan are most attracted to education and academia according to48% of respondents, followed by healthcare (43%), and banking and finance (35%). Local talent is seen to be drawn predominantly to IT, electronics and telecommunications (36%), military, defence, police and security services (24%), and banking and finance (22%).
In the past year, respondents believe that the IT, electronics and telecommunications industry has seen the strongest growth (27%), followed by banking and finance (20%), and real estate (15%).
According to59% of Jordan respondents, the government is a favorable employer. A quarter of Jordan respondents (23%) have changed the industry they work in in the last24 months, with51% considering an industry change in the next few years. Education and academia is the industry of choice for16%, though management consulting (10%) jobs are also popular. The top reasons for career changes are perceived better salaries (74%), career growth opportunities (44%), and better benefits (27%).
Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov, said: “Within Jordan, it is very clear which industry is the most preferable, though interestingly the majority of regional respondents are keen to find employment in the IT, electronics and telecommunications industry rather than in oil, gas and petrochemicals.”
Data for the Bayt.com “Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa” survey was collected online from November18-25,2013, with7,370 respondents aged18+, representing Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, KSA, Syria, Tunisia, and the UAE.