DOHA: Qatar is among the three most attractive countries of the Mena region for job seekers, with a growing number of Western candidates. "We have curriculum from everywhere in the world because there are many major projects that attract specialists from all over the world," said Suhail Masri, Vice-President, Sales at Bayt.com.
On the sidelines of a Bayt.com roundtable for a group of local employers in Doha, Masri said "our objective is to provide a platform for employers". The company's studies say that the most desired candidates in the country are engineers (14 percent), accountants (15 percent) and project managers (12 percent).
He said that Qatar was the second most attractive country in the region, only topped by the UAE and followed by Saudi Arabia. According to the site, construction, oil, gas, petrochemicals and banking are the industries that create more jobs.
"Holding this roundtable in Qatar is a demonstration of our commitment to empower the employer community in the country, and of our dedication to help employers meet the government's Qatarisation efforts," he added.
This event was part of a roundtable series that Bayt conducts yearly across the region. Marjorie Alegado, Human Resources Associate from Ernst & Young, who was attending the event, said: "I found the event to be a good arena for learning and sharing ideas. The event shed light on interesting topics which I can use in my new role. I will be glad to come to the next roundtable event."
Bayt.com has over 1,500 jobs advertised in Qatar alone on an average day and a similar number is usually filled through the online search function by employers who prefer to search the Bayt.com community database without publicly advertising their vacancies.
According to Bayt.com's July 2012 'Best Cities in the Mena survey, Doha is in the top 5 list of cities when it comes to labour rights, environmental and socio-cultural factors. With regards to salaries, 44 percent of the respondents from Doha claim their city is good/excellent.
"In fact, at Bayt.com we have witnessed a robust increase in hiring activity this year across the board in Qatar. All these factors combined make it extremely attractive for expats to work in Qatar," said Masri.
According to Bayt.com's Job Index survey (January 2013), the majority of companies in Qatar (72 percent) are expecting to hire up to 10 employees in the coming three months -- three percent higher than the regional prospects of 69 percent.
© The Peninsula 2013
