Nearly all UAE respondents (95%) said they were satisfied with the quality of college education they have received/ are receiving according to the latest: “Where are the Middle East’s Fresh Graduates Heading?” research survey. The survey conducted by the Middle East’s number one job site Bayt.com in conjunction with research specialists YouGov Siraj, found that30% of UAE respondents were very satisfied,47% were satisfied, and18% were somewhat satisfied. Only5% were dissatisfied and none were very dissatisfied.
Overall in the region,27% of respondents were very satisfied,40% satisfied,24% somewhat satisfied,7% dissatisfied and2% very dissatisfied with the quality of their college education. Respondents in Tunisia and Lebanon reported the highest satisfaction with their education with39% and38% respectively saying they were very satisfied. Egypt and Morocco reported the largest number of ‘’very dissatisfied’’ respondents with each country reaching levels of4%.
When asked about the impact of their education on their career development,23% of UAE respondents said that their educational background has completely prepared them to target their industry of choice.28% said this was true ‘’to a large extent’’ and33% said ‘’only to some extent’’. Only7% said their educational background hardly prepared them and only4% said it had not prepared them at all.
Overall in the MENA region,21% of respondents said that their educational background has completely prepared them to target their industry of choice,22% said ‘’to a large extent’’,33% said ‘’only to some extent’’,9% said ‘’hardly’’ and6% said ‘’not at all’’. Among the countries surveyed, Qatar had the highest level of satisfaction with29% of respondents saying that their educational background has completely prepared them to target their industry of choice and26% saying that it has ‘’to a large extent’’.
“The figures are interesting because they show that against the current backdrop of challenging economic conditions, respondents are still very satisfied with the education they are receiving. This can be an indication of many things including higher quality education systems, increased alignment of the region’s higher education institutions with the needs of the local workplace and a sharper focus by students on studies that directly correlate with the local workplace” commented Rabea Ataya, Chief Executive Officer, Bayt.com.
According to the report, the most appealing industries to respondents from a career point of view were Banking /Finance (20%), IT (20%) and Engineering (16%) followed by Business Management (14%), Telecommunications (14%), Education (13%), Oil & petrochemicals (13%). Human resources (10%), Electronics (10%) and Airline (9%) were also listed. In the UAE, the most appealing industries were Banking (22%) and IT (21%). The least appealing were the Airline (10%) and Electronics (8%) sectors.
Overall, the report found that the top three industries hiring the most were Banking/Finance (27%), IT (18%), and Education Institutions (15%). The least was the Business Management. Consultancy sector (10%). In the UAE, the top recruiting industries were Banking (29%) and Property/Construction development (21%) indicating construction is still a priority in the country despite the real estate crash.
The report found that the majority of MENA respondents (72%) were looking into opportunities for further education. To pursue their education, most respondents considered going to the UK (33%), the US (31%), and Canada (29%) while18% considered the UAE. In the UAE, the majority (43%) considered staying in the country for further education followed by37% who considered going to the UK.
“We see more and more people in the MENA region looking to further their education. This is an indication of the region’s development. As countries evolve, their citizens seek to further improve themselves and put more emphasis on education” commented Sundip Chahal, Chief Operating Officer of YouGov Siraj.
The report also found that4 out of10respondents (currently employed) found a job within3 months of completing their education. The majority of respondents (77%) were willing to consider relocation for employment purposes. The most preferred relocation countries were the UAE (56%), followed by KSA (45%), Qatar (38%) and Kuwait (32%).
Of those surveyed,65% were considering setting up their own business in the future. Higher consideration was seen amongst respondents in Syria (81%) followed by Oman (78%). In the UAE,64% of respondents were considering setting up their own business. Of those considering setting up their own business, the preferred sectors were IT (13%), Engineering/Design (9%), and Business/ Management Consultancy (8%).
When asked about benefits expected from a job, respondents in the MENA region answered that apart from basic salary (78%), bonus (45%) and personal medical insurance (40%) were expected. In the UAE, salary expectations (87%) were at the top followed by bonus (54%) and personal medical insurance (48%). Housing allowance was also highly expected at46%.
Salary expectations differed in various countries. Respondents in the UAE and Qatar expected a much higher salary in comparison to others, with24% and27% respectively expecting USD2,001 to USD3,000 salaries as opposed to only10% of countries expecting that range overall. Egypt and Jordan had the lowest expectations with both countries indicating only3% of respondents expecting salaries in that range.
The report also found that the majority of respondents (87%) in the MENA region were optimistic that they would find a job. However, the report also found that most colleges (70%) do not provide suitable job opportunities for their students. More than half of respondents (62%) were also reported to have acquired previous work experience during or before their college years with34% having experience of more than24 months.
When asked about what skills were required to succeed in the work place, respondents stated that linguistic skills (40%) were the most important, followed by computer skills(26%) and leadership skills (24%). Analytical (22%), communication (22%) and interpersonal (16%) skills were also on the list. In the UAE, the highest rated skills were linguistic (36%) and leadership (29%).
Overall,67% of MENA respondents were optimistic that today’s generation has more career and education opportunities than their parent’s generation. In the UAE,46% of respondents were very optimistic that today’s generation has better career and education opportunities compared to only21% of respondents from Egypt who shared this sentiment.
“We conducted this report to chart the region’s current level of education and also to study what fields are perceived to be the best in terms of chances for employment. This report provides information that is crucial for fresh graduates, academicians, and employers alike, in that it gives fresh insights into the needs, preferences and opinions of the region’s latest graduating classes as they pertain to entry into the professional workforce. Apart from giving employers a unique glimpse into the mindset of their freshest pool of recruits in the MENA region, it is also a great tool for education institutions to rate their services and adapt their curriculums to today’s job markets,” concluded Ataya.
Data for the research report was collected online between25 July to15 August2010 with5,996 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan. Students and fresh graduates aged over18 years old, of all nationalities, were included in the survey.