Employees are always on the lookout for the perfect jobs that will inspire, thrill, come with a big, fat pay cheque and brilliant career prospects. Of course. 

With robust economic growth predicted for the UAE, majority of CEOs (83 percent) believe they will need to employ more hiring managers to grapple with a skills shortage, according to the findings of a PwC Annual Global CEO Survey issued earlier this year.

However, that does not stop the jobseekers in the UAE from eyeing what they consider to be the most attractive industries offering best career growth.

According to Bayt.com and YouGov's “Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa” survey, UAE respondents claim that the industries with best career growth prospects are: oil, gas and petrochemicals (24 percent), IT/internet/e-commerce (18 percent), and real estate/ construction / property development (14 percent).

Meanwhile, banking/finance (19 percent), IT/internet/e-commerce (18 percent), and advertising/marketing (11 percent) are perceived to hire the highest proportion of fresh graduates.

Omar Tahboub, General Manager at Bayt.com says: “Our latest research is aimed at understanding job seeker preferences and satisfaction levels with various industries on attributes including salary and benefits, work-life balance, career growth, and job security."

The study has also revealed the industries that are most attractive to women, according to UAE job seekers. They include education/academia (according to 24 percent of those surveyed), healthcare (24 percent), human resources (21 percent) and hospitality (20 percent). 

The industries that are perceived to offer the most competitive packages are: military/ defence/ police (according to 40 percent of those surveyed), followed by engineering/design; automotive, and HR, according to the study.

The study also revealed various factors that influence industry attractiveness. Almost a quarter of those surveyed in the UAE said they have changed their industry at least once in the last two years.

Zafar Shah, Research Director, Data Services at YouGov MENA said, “In order to learn the best ways to attract and recruit professionals, you should first understand which industries they’re moving to, which they’re leaving from, and why. This helps recruiters to better appeal to professionals and optimises their hiring efforts.”

About 31 percent said they wanted to fulfil their "life's ambition", while an equal percentage of respondents changed jobs for "better career growth opportunities", while another 28 percent revealed they jumped ship as a "new industry offered opportunity to stay close to family".

The results of the survey are based on a sample of 3,525 respondents from the following countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and others.

(Writing by Mily Chakrabarty; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(mily.chakrabarty@refinitiv.com)

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