| 05 Sep 2010 |
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95% of UAE respondents are satisfied with the quality of college education they have received/ are receiving, latest Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj survey reveals
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84 % believe their educational background has prepared them to target their industry of choice
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 5th September 2010: 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.comBayt.com
in conjunction with research specialists YouGov Siraj, found that 30% of UAE respondents were very satisfied, 47% were satisfied, and 18% were somewhat satisfied. Only 5% were dissatisfied and none were very dissatisfied.Overall in the region, 27% of respondents were very satisfied, 40% satisfied, 24% somewhat satisfied, 7% dissatisfied and 2% very dissatisfied with the quality of their college education. Respondents in Tunisia and Lebanon reported the highest satisfaction with their education with 39% and 38% respectively saying they were very satisfied. Egypt and Morocco reported the largest number of ''very dissatisfied'' respondents with each country reaching levels of 4%.
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'' and 33% said ''only to some extent''. Only 7% said their educational background hardly prepared them and only 4% 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'' and 6% said ''not at all''. Among the countries surveyed, Qatar had the highest level of satisfaction with 29% of respondents saying that their educational background has completely prepared them to target their industry of choice and 26% 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.comBayt.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%) while 18% considered the UAE. In the UAE, the majority (43%) considered staying in the country for further education followed by 37% 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.
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 at 46%.
Salary expectations differed in various countries. Respondents in the UAE and Qatar expected a much higher salary in comparison to others, with 24% and 27% respectively expecting USD 2,001 to USD 3,000 salaries as opposed to only 10% of countries expecting that range overall. Egypt and Jordan had the lowest expectations with both countries indicating only 3% 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 with 34% having experience of more than 24 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 only 21% 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 between 25 July to 15 August 2010 with 5,996 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan. Students and fresh graduates aged over 18 years old, of all nationalities, were included in the survey.
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Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 30,000 employers and 4.75 Million registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on Bayt.comBayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region.
YouGov Siraj is a full-service market research company, specializing in qualitative and online research, as well as opinion polling. YouGov Siraj has the region's largest pure research panel of over 200,000 members, who regularly respond to surveys. The company has particularly strong analytical skills, with research specialists who have many years regional experience. YouGov Siraj acts as a research consultancy for clients on research projects of any size, utilising a range of offline and online data collection techniques, ensuring the very best service the region can offer. It is a subsidiary company of YouGov Plc in the UK and applies the same online methodology for which YouGov is famous for in the UK which has proven levels of accuracy.
For further enquiries:
Bayt.comBayt.com contacts
Lama Ataya
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communication
Tel: 04 391 1900
Lama-ataya@bayt.net
YouGov Siraj contacts:
Sundip Chahal
Chief Operating Officer
sundip.chahal@yougovsiraj.com
Tel: 04 367 0340
Mobile: 050 848 7038
Tariq Zuroub
Manning, Selvage & Lee (MS&L)
Tel: +971 4 367 6162
Fax: 971 4 367 2615
Email: tariq.zuroub@dubai.mslpr.com
© Press Release 2010
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