Jobs in UAE: Marketing, banking, and hospitality hiring fresh graduates

 

When it comes to industries that seem to be hiring the highest number of fresh graduates, UAE respondents listed advertising/marketing/public relations (21%), banking/finance (18%) and hospitality/recreation/entertainment (15%).

 

The 2020 “Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa” survey, conducted recently by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s top job site, and YouGov, global online market research company, has found that 62% respondents used or planned to use leading online job sites to find their first job. Moreover, more than 8 in 10 of UAE graduates (84%) say that their education has prepared them for finding a job in their industry of choice.

 

According to 43% of respondents, some industries employ fresh graduates because graduates have lower salary expectations; 38% believe that the reason behind that is the fact that young graduates are compliant and willing to follow instructions.

 

In terms of skills required to excel in the workplace, respondents mentioned computer skills (49%) as most important, followed by communication skills (44%) and interpersonal/team skills (37%). In terms of their own personal skills, respondents consider their interpersonal/team playing skills (95%), communication skills (90%), flexibility/adaptability to change (88%), computer (88%), and analytical/problem-solving skills (86%), to be ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

 

In the UAE, engineering (24%) and business/commerce/economics (20%) were the most popular subjects amongst fresh graduates, followed by accounting/finance (14%) and information technology/computer sciences (11%). More than 9 in 10 respondents appear to be satisfied with the quality of higher education they received (91%), with 56% stating that they are ‘very’ satisfied.

 

More than a third of UAE graduates said that their college helped them identify or apply for a suitable job in a number of ways including: help with CV and cover letter writing (41%), career fairs (41%) and open days where companies visit campus to discuss job opportunities with students (41%).

 

Additionally, 56% of current employees work in their field of study, with 47% being employed full time and 9% part time.

 

Most UAE graduates (49%) feel that the biggest challenge they face when searching for a job is lack of previous work experience. Not knowing how to approach the job search effectively (49%) is also considered an obstacle.

 

That said, 77% of UAE graduates said they acquired work experience during or before their time in college, with 31% stating they had worked for a period of up to six months. The nature of the job/being passionate about the job (46%) emerges as the single most important factor for respondents when selecting a job. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of UAE fresh graduates expect to be offered a basic salary for their first job and 51% expect to get personal medical insurance.

 

When asked what they will do if they do not find a job in their exact target job role/industry, more than half (52%) of Mena fresh graduates said they will keep looking until they do, while 27% said they will start looking into another role/industry.

 

“The 2020 Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Mena survey reveals that while most fresh graduates believe that their lack of experience is jeopardising their job search, employers in the region are increasingly tapping into the graduate talent pool,” said Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com.

 

“Bayt.com offers numerous entry-level jobs and internships, as well as information about the job market, with an aim to empower the youth and ensure that they are making sound decisions when it comes to their future career paths.”

 

Zafar Shah, Research Director, Data Services at YouGov said: “The 2020 Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Mena survey shows that more and more employers are opening their doors to fresh graduates, presenting a significant shift in what employers need in this increasingly digital world. Our research reflects the preference of employers in hiring candidates who have already developed interpersonal and technological proficiencies despite being new to the workforce. And this can, in turn, help shape the future of employment across the Mena region.”

 

Data for the 2020 Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Mena survey was collected online from June 9 - 28, 2020. Results are based on a sample of 1,031 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and others.-- Tradearabia News Service