According to the Middle East Salary Survey last year, the average monthly salary of professionals working in the property sector is Dh35,394. And nearly three-quarters of participants had an increase in salary at their most recent pay review. The average overall salary increase reported was 15 per cent. MacDonald & Company, together with the RICS, is currently updating this survey and would be presenting the results to the public at CitiScape in October. Speaking to Emirates Business, William Buck, International Director, MacDonald & Company, said the range of salaries is expected to remain healthy this year. But beginning next year - with an influx of people from all over the world looking for greener pastures in the UAE - salaries will level out. "There is a big trend at the moment wherein a lot of people are coming here looking for work because property markets internationally are not doing so well. And that is making things a little easier for employers," he said.
Developers and contractors have been complaining of a shortage of people across the property industry for years. Is this still the case today?
I wouldn't say so. There is a big trend currently as a lot of people are coming here looking for work because property markets globally are not doing well. For instance, the UK market is going down. In the US there is a credit crunch and the property situation is pretty much the same in Europe and Australasia. So more property professionals are willing to come and work in the Middle East and that is making things a bit easier for employers.
With more people flocking to the region for jobs, do you think salaries would eventually go down?
I don't think this trend will be evident from this year. But next year, definitely, we will see salaries levelling out if not decreasing in the region because of the supply-demand issue.
Are salaries in the property sector high compared to other markets in the region?
Surprisingly, no. But the main thing we saw last year was the average salary increase in this part of the world is quite high. The average salary raise last year was 15 per cent and I think we're going to see something similar within this year.
Which country has the highest demand for property workers?
The biggest demand and the hardest to recruit for is Saudi Arabia. There's a big demand across the region but it's harder to recruit in Saudi. There is huge amount of development going on there, but it has a very different culture.
What is the most favoured market?
Dubai has traditionally been the place where candidates are willing to work. Over the last year, we've seen a big migration to Abu Dhabi. Last year, 80 per cent of our work was in Dubai. This year, about 90 per cent of our work is split between Abu Dhabi and Dubai and 10 per cent to other GCC states.
One of the dilemmas in any emerging market is that in some cases certain nationalities are given preference during recruitment. In this part of the world, is there a high value placed on nationality?
I wouldn't say there's preference in nationalities. In fact, I would say there is a high value placed on local market experience so people who are already working in the property industry in this region, those who know how contracts and things work, are the ones who are valued very highly. We would pay 15 to 20 per cent less to a newcomer from the UK, for instance, compared to the one who's already here in the region.
In job advertisements, you would see something like 'this X company is looking for a candidate with Y nationality and Z gender'. What does this signify?
In this part of the world, you are free to post job advertisements any way you like. But if you look at how we advertise in the UK, for example, you are not allowed to do that. There are regulations. You can't do anything race related, age related, sex related. So the laws back in the UK when it comes to recruitment and advertising are very different to those here.
Do you think it will be helpful if the UAE would have a law, which safeguards candidates' equality rights similar to those in the UK and US?
Some of the laws in the UK now make it difficult for us because we cannot narrow down what the clients really need. They hamper us on saying almost anything. You can't say how many years of experience you are looking for. You can't put exactly what you are looking for. It makes it a little bit harder.
William Buck, International Director, MacDonald & Co
Buck has be associated with the recruitment sector for seven years.
Born on May 25, 1977, he was previously a headhunter at MRI Worldwide in the London Financial Market, specialising in equity sales.
Buck worked with MacDonald & Company's London office for three years before moving to Dubai in January 2006, where he set up an office with Matthew Taylor.
He has a BA Honours in history from Southampton University, UK.
By Karen Remo-Listana
© Emirates Business 24/7 2008
