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Some companies in the UAE are expected to return to hiring mode this year and many are likely to recruit entry-level staff, according to a new survey released on Sunday.
Among the organisations polled in the country, 52 percent are expected to fill positions for junior executive (52 percent), sales executive (22 percent), receptionist (19 percent) and sales manager (17 percent), Bayt.com said.
About four in ten employers (38 percent) have also expressed plans to hire candidates with sales and marketing experience, while 37 percent are looking for applicants with managerial experience and 25 percent prefer professionals with mid-level experience.
The findings are part of the Job Index survey conducted by the employment portal with market research firm YouGov. The index, which is released twice a year, also identifies trends in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) job market and provides an understanding of the skill sets and qualifications that employers are looking for.
Hiring activity in the country slowed down considerably last year, as many businesses struggled to sustain operations amid the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Employers were forced to reduce their payroll and staff salaries, as well as froze hiring plans, to stay afloat.
Job losses
According to previous estimates, the pandemic was expected to leave hundreds of thousands of workers jobless in the UAE last year.
Recent research showed that things are looking up for the local economy. Output in Dubai’s non-oil sector, for instance, started to expand in December and continued to do so last month, according to IHS Markit.
Job numbers also rose for the first time since February 2020, signalling improved business conditions.
“With confidence for 2021 also improving due to the rapid vaccine rollout in the UAE, employment rose for the first time in nearly a year, after the pandemic drove record declines during the second quarter of 2020,” David Owen, economist at IHS Markit said last week.
Skills in demand
When scouting for new talent, employers would be leaning towards applicants that can communicate effectively, as well as those who can lead a team.
According to the survey, good communications skills in Arabic and English are preferred by 52 percent of the companies, followed by good leadership skills (38 percent).
Candidates already living in the UAE are also preferred by a number of companies (38 percent), as well as those who are team players (36 percent) and those who can demonstrate that they are efficient (36 percent).
Academic qualifications
As for academic credentials, employers are looking for graduates of Business Management (31 percent), Engineering (23 percent) and Commerce (18 percent).
Bayt.com also said that banking and finance has emerged as the main industry attracting national talent (34 percent) and fresh graduates (31 percent), while companies in the healthcare/medical services sector (36 percent) are looking for female talent in the UAE.
Overall, the most attractive industries right now for jobseekers are healthcare/medical services (33 percent), engineering/design (28 percent) and information technology/e-commerce (26 percent).
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
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