It
says job seekers might find work in a year’s time with 71 percent of
the respondents in the Kingdom revealing plans to hire in 12 months’
time and only two percent stating the opposite. Data for the July
2011 Jobs Index was collected online between July 11 and Aug. 9, from
4,560 respondents in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Males and females aged over 18 years old, of all nationalities, were included in the poll. The
quarterly survey was conducted by the Middle East’s number one job site
Bayt.com, in conjunction with research specialists YouGovSiraj, more
than half of the employers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region plan to hire new employees over the next three months. The
survey said a little over a quarter of the respondents (26 percent) from
Saudi Arabia, said they would ‘probably’ be recruiting, while one third
(33 percent) said that their organizations would "definitely" be
recruiting in the next few months. However, only four percent of the
respondents said they would definitely not be hiring in the next
quarter.The Jobs Index survey is conducted to gauge perceptions of
job availability and hiring, to identify job trends and to provide an
understanding of the key skill sets and qualifications required in the
MENA region job market. Countries within this region noted various preferences as reasons for hiring during the Jobs Index survey. Overall,
employers in the Kingdom and Qatar seemed slightly more likely to hire
than others, as 33 percent and 31 percent respectively stated that their
organizations would "definitely" be recruiting new staff in the next
quarter. When respondents were asked how many job positions their
organizations would fill in the next three months, 45 percent said that
less than five jobs would be available, while 23 percent said that
between six and 10 jobs would be available in the coming quarter.“The
level of regional hiring activity remains relatively encouraging given
the regional economic backdrop. However, it is clear that in some parts
of the region companies seem to be favoring a climate of cautious
cost-consciousness specifically in terms of human resources growth,”
said Amer Zureikat, VP Sales, Bayt.com.Moreover, when asked how to
rate their current country of residence as an attractive job market
compared to those across the rest of the region, respondents in the UAE,
followed by Qatar were the most optimistic about their country — 44
percent and 43 percent respectively said their country of residence was
the most attractive job market in the region. In the Kingdom, 42 percent said the country was much more attractive.According
to the poll, employers said ‘business management’ graduates or
postgraduates stand the best chance from those that are likely to be
hired. According to the study, 26 percent of organizations from the Kingdom favor employing staff that are qualified in this field. It
said graduates or postgraduates in "engineering" and "commerce" are
equally sought after by organizations in the Kingdom — with 25 percent
and 21 percent respectively — of the respondents citing that recruits in
these fields as greatly required. The trend continues as
organizations claim to be more on the lookout for people to fill in
lower executive positions like ‘junior executive’ (37 percent) and
‘executive’ (29 percent).Communication skills in both English and
Arabic are considered a desirable trait that employers look for when
selecting new staff, according to the study. Seventy-six percent of
respondents in Saudi Arabia agreed this is what they look for most in a
potential new employee. Being ‘cooperative, flexible, and helpful team
player’ is also important for the region’s organizations; as 51 percent
stated these qualities as being necessary characteristics employees
should possess. ’Overall personality and demeanor’ was also cited as
appreciated attributes by 49 percent of the survey’s respondents, while
45 percent claimed that having a desire to make a difference was an
extremely essential quality as well.Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov,
said: “When recruiting, the region’s organizations place much more
emphasis on key skills such as fluency in the first language of the
region, in addition to teamwork, personality, loyalty and honesty. By
looking at the figures, it’s evident that employers will not instantly
choose a candidate just based on qualifications alone.”The Job Index
is also gauged by asking the respondents what their hiring expectancy
is in a year’s time, which develops the Hiring Expectancy Index (HEI).
Suggesting widespread optimism for the future, 67 percent of the MENA
region’s organizations expect to hire in the long term. In the UAE,
only three percent said they will not be employing in a year’s time,
while 65 percent said they would hire new staff. Additionally,
respondents in Algeria were also highly confident that their
organizations will be hiring in the future — 33 percent said they would
certainly recruit in a year’s time. However, the lowest figures
among all of the surveyed countries in terms of propensity to recruit in
a year’s time were shown in Morocco at 22 percent and in Bahrain at 19
percent.The respondents were also asked to name which industries
they feel are attracting or retaining top talent in their country of
residence today. As in the previous wave, "telecommunications" (35
percent) took the lead followed by "banking and finance" (34 percent)
and "construction" (32 percent).Zureikat said the Bayt.com Jobs Index has been designed to demonstrate how the region’s job market changes every quarter. It
allows the region’s employers and other industry stakeholders to
benefit from current job market figures, which can be used for driving
positive organizational change, he said. Zureikat said the surveys
and studies conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj are geared toward
providing the region’s organizations and human resources professionals,
with regularly updated research that sheds light on numerous
fundamentals of the region’s job market.
