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As growth returns, the capital projects and infrastructure industry in the Middle East will face an increasing demand for talent in specific sectors and digital skills, according to a PwC Middle East survey.
This high demand will be fuelled by a rise in capital investment, digital transformation and the need to recruit and train local talent, the PwC Capital Projects and Infrastructure Survey stated.
The biennial survey has forecasted project investments in the Middle East to increase over the next two years.
According to the survey, 41 percent of the respondents cited access to skilled resources as the top area that will constrain growth, with over a fifth expecting their future demand for talent to exceed their ability to retain and attract people.
“The current high level of demand has created a war for talent within the sector with 31 percent of respondents citing the availability of skilled resources in the market as their top challenge. Although the issue of talent recruitment, retention and training runs deeper than short-term skills shortage, it is here that the industry will first feel stress as wages increase and the delivery of keynote projects is put at risk,” the survey report noted.
Almost 42 percent of the respondents ranked people-related investments as their top priority while 69 percent included them in their top three priority areas.
Skills in demand
In terms of functional skills in demand, project management (59 percent) and cost control (50 percent) were currently among the most demanded functional skills. Over the next two years, financing and investment qualifications will be the most sought-after skills in the region (39 percent up from the current 27 percent).
Demand for engineers will rise to 43 percent from 32 percent over the next two years; strategy and master planners will grow to 50 percent from 45 percent, while demand for environmental and sustainability experts will increase to 27 percent from 23 percent, the survey said.
Nearly 56 percent of respondents said that leadership is and will continue to be the top soft skill in demand within the sector. The survey identified that vision and strategic thinking were the soft skills that will be in most demand over the next two years.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
