The Construction Industry Has Experienced the Strongest Growth in 2015, According to Qatar Respondents

The Construction Industry Has Experienced the Strongest Growth in 2015, According to Qatar Respondents

According to the recent “Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa” survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the number one career site in the Middle East, and YouGov, a pioneer in online market research, the construction industry experienced the strongest growth in Qatar in2015.

The survey found that33% of Qatar respondents believed that the construction industry has experienced strong growth over the last year. Respondents in Qatar also recognized banking/finance (27%) and airlines (25%) as industries with significant growth.

According to the survey, healthcare/medical services/pharmaceuticals and education/ academia emerged as the industries most attractive to women in Qatar (36% for both), followed closely by hospitality/entertainment/ tourism (31%). Banking/finance (28%) and the airline industry (26%) were also popular choices among women.

Most Attractive Industries

The government/civil service/utilities sector emerged as the industry that attracts the highest proportion of national talent according to41% of Qatar respondents. Other attractive industries for national talent include military/defense/police/security services (23%), and banking and finance (21%). According to the poll,62% of Qatar respondents view the government as a favorable employer of choice, with43% perceiving the government as “extremely favorable” and only6% viewing it as “extremely unfavorable”.

Industry Satisfaction

Almost two out of every five Qatar respondents are satisfied with their current/ most recent salary packages (39%), inclusive of non-monetary benefits,13% of which are “completely satisfied”. However, a little more than one in five (21%) of those surveyed are “completely dissatisfied” with their current/ most recent salary package.

Overall, a high percentage of current employees or unemployed professionals looking for a job in Qatar are generally satisfied with what their industries offer/offered. Close to half of the respondents in Qatar are/were satisfied with their career growth (48%), while21% are/were “neither dissatisfied, nor satisfied” and12% are “completely dissatisfied”. In terms of maintaining a work-life balance, half of the respondents in Qatar are/were satisfied (50%), with19% being “completely satisfied”. Just15% of those surveyed are/were “completely dissatisfied”.

A good61% of respondents in Qatar are satisfied with their work culture,59% with their working hours and53% with their job security. In fact,37% of respondents are/were “somewhat satisfied” with their work culture, while24% are/were “completely satisfied”. Close to a third (31%) of respondents are/were “completely satisfied” with their working hours, while15% are/were “completely dissatisfied”.8% claim to be “completely dissatisfied” with the job security offered by their industry.

In terms of training and development,21% of Qatar respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” and25% “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them. However,35% of respective respondents are/were “somewhat or completely dissatisfied” with the training and development programs in their companies.

Most Stressful Industries and Industries With the Longest Working Hours

Construction emerged as the most stressful industry for47% of Qatar respondents. Oil, gas and petrochemicals/energy and healthcare/medical services/pharmaceuticals were also perceived as stressful sectors by26% and18% of respondents respectively. On the other hand, charity/volunteer work and automotive were observed to be the most stressful industries by only3% of respective respondents.

Construction also tops the list for the longest working hours for almost half of Qatar respondents (48%), followed by hospitality/entertainment/ tourism (23%).

Seeking Employment

The most popular industry for respondents who are currently seeking employment, across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is IT/electronics/telecommunications (9%). Conversely, the least popular industries for job seekers are real estate, charity/volunteering work, management consulting and agriculture (all at1%).

The Qatar banking and finance sector hires the highest proportion of fresh graduates, according to27% of the respondents. Other industries with a propensity for hiring fresh graduates include construction (20%), government/civil service/utilities (19%), and IT/electronics/telecommunications (18%).

Switching Industries

Another major finding of the survey is that only27% of MENA respondents have changed their industry in the last two years. This was certainly the case in Qatar, where74% of respondents have not changed their industry in the last24 months. For those who have changed industry across the MENA region, better salaries (37%), better opportunities for career growth (32%) and lack of recognition (30%) are the top three reasons for their change.

41% of those surveyed in Qatar are considering an industry change in the next few months, while one third (33%) of the respondents “don’t know/can’t say”. For61% of the MENA respondents who consider an industry change, a higher salary is the top reason, while39% consider enhanced career growth opportunities as an important reason for changing industries.

Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com, said: “It’s a very good sign that61% of respondents in Qatar are satisfied with their work culture. Over the years, more and more companies are becoming aware of the importance of that, and branding their work culture in order to attract and retain amazing talent. At Bayt.com, we have been helping the top employers brand their companies as top places to work for years now, and we encourage organizations to have a professional online profile for their companies. We are also well-versed in meeting the very specific human resource requirements across these industries. Our annual Top Industries in the MENA report empowers us to understand the opinions of professionals in the Middle East and North Africa regarding their own industry and various other industry sectors in the region, delivering vital statistics that make a difference for employers, employees and recruiters alike.”

“More and more people across the Middle East and North Africa are looking at a variety of industries as the top employment options,” said Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov. “In Qatar, the most popular industries in terms of perception are not the same as the most popular industries where respondents are keen to find employment.”

Data for the Bayt.com ‘Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey was conducted between November22 and December8,2015 with respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

  • Date Posted: 25/01/2016
  • Last updated: 25/01/2016
  • Date Posted: 25/01/2016
  • Last updated: 25/01/2016
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