In an effort to measure hiring potential across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Bayt.com - the Middle East’s #1 Job Site – and YouGov – global online market research company – conducted the latest Middle East Job Index Survey. Results from the survey have revealed that, in the MENA, almost two in three (64%) employers plan to hire within the next year.
Hiring in the Next Three and12 Months
Within the next three months, half (50%) of all MENA employers are “definitely” or “probably going to hire. Among companies in MENA that plan to hire,43% are going to hire for a “Junior Executive”, followed by27% who intend to hire a “Coordinator”, and another24% who intend to hire a “Manager”. When it comes to specific roles,17% of employers in MENA said they are looking to hire a “Sales Executive “, another16% are looking for a “Project Manager”, while13% said they want to hire an “Accountant.”
Certain sectors will be hiring more than others over the next three months. More than half (53%) of the private sector – small/medium local companies, as well as other private sector companies intend to hire, followed by private sector – large local companies (51%) and private sector – multinational companies (49%). In terms of future hiring expectations, even more companies across the MENA region (64%) are planning to hire. Private sector – multinational companies have the highest hiring intentions in a year’s time (67%) within the MENA region.
Among employers who were surveyed,68% claim that their company has hired new employees in the past12 months. In fact,43% of employers claim that new hires at their companies were made within the past three months.
“The hiring forecast across the region shows a continuation of a strong job market, with over six in10 employers in the region planning to hire within the next year and one half planning to hire within three months,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. “We have also seen that42% of those planning to hire in the MENA within three months are looking to hire for more than five job roles. At Bayt.com, these findings come as no surprise to us: there are more than10,000 jobs posted on Bayt.com on any given day and thousands of additional vacancies are filled via the CV Search tool. Our mission is to continue working very closely with the region’s employers to help them find talent. We are also always enhancing and developing our tools and information that empower and support job seekers on their journey to finding the ideal jobs.”
Qualifications and Skills in Demand
When it comes to academic qualification, a large number of employers in MENA are looking for Engineering Graduation/Post Graduation (32%), followed by Business Management Graduation/Post Graduation (27%), as well as Commerce Graduation/Post Graduation(18%) and Information Technology Graduation/Post Graduation (17%).
In terms of skills in high demand,59% of employers in the MENA region are looking for candidates with “good communication skills - Arabic and English”, followed by candidates who are “teams players/ cooperative / helpful / flexible” (50%), those with an “ability to work under pressure” (46%), and candidates with“ good leadership skills” (44%).
When employers in the MENA region look for experience,37% look for candidates with “ “managerial” experience – ability to manage a team”, followed by candidates with “mid-level experience” (29%), while26% seek candidates with “sales and marketing experience”.
Masri adds: “We encourage companies and organizations to use Bayt.com features, including our CV Search and Job Postings, when looking to hire new employees. Our tools and database of nearly30 million CVs can help employers meet their hiring needs and ensure that they fill their vacancies as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.”
Attractiveness of job market and industry
Industries that emerged as the ones attracting/retaining top talent in the MENA region include Banking/Finance (31%), Engineering/Design (26%), and Real Estate/Construction/property development (26%). When it came to industries attracting/retaining top Graduate talent,36% of respondents said Banking/Finance, this was followed Engineering/Design (30%), and Business Consultancy/Management (26%).
When it came to industries attracting/retaining female talent, the majority of respondents said Banking/Finance (43%), Advertising/ Marketing/ Public Relations (39%) and Healthcare/Medical Services (35%).
“Hiring expectancy is one of the most important areas to study in the MENA region as it can serve as a reflection on the state of the economy and general job availability,” said Anjali Chhabra, Senior Research Manager, YouGov. “ In addition to finding out the region’s hiring potential when looking at the job market, it is important to have insights on which skills, experience levels and academic qualifications are currently in high demand. With this information, job seekers can more strategically plan their efforts and search activities.”
Data for the Bayt.com Middle East Job Index survey was collected online between May19th and July19th,2017. Results are based on a sample of1,474 respondents from the following countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.