The Airline Industry has Experienced the Strongest Growth in 2015, According to UAE Respondents

Banking and Finance emerged as the most attractive industry for the female workforce according to a third of UAE respondents

Dubai, UAE, 25 January 2016: 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, 23% of UAE respondents believed that the airline industry has experienced strong growth over the last year.

According to the survey, banking and finance emerged as the industry which is the most attractive to women (32%) in the UAE, followed closely by hospitality/entertainment/ tourism (30%). Education and academia (29%), as well as healthcare/medical services/pharmaceuticals (28%) were also popular industries among women.

Most Attractive Industries

The government/civil service/utilities sector emerged as the industry that attracts the highest proportion of national talent according to 37% of UAE respondents. This was followed by military/defense/police/security services (26%). According to the poll, 69% of UAE respondents view the government as a favorable employer of choice, with 45% perceiving the government as “extremely favorable” and only 2% viewing it as “extremely unfavorable”.

Industry Satisfaction

More than two out of every five UAE respondents are satisfied with their current/ most recent salary packages (42%), inclusive of non-monetary benefits, and 12% claim to be “completely satisfied”. However, close to one in five of those surveyed are “completely dissatisfied” with their current/ most recent salary package (18%).

Overall, a high percentage of current employees or unemployed professionals looking for a job in the UAE are generally satisfied with what their industries offer/offered. Half of the UAE respondents are/were satisfied with their career growth, while 19% are/were “neither dissatisfied, nor satisfied” and 15% are/were “completely dissatisfied”. In terms of maintaining a work-life balance, more than half of the respondents in the UAE are/were satisfied (55%), with more than one in five (21%) being “completely satisfied”. Just 11% of those surveyed are/were “completely dissatisfied”.  

A good 60% of respondents in the UAE are/were satisfied with their work culture, 65% with their working hours and 52% with their job security. In fact, 34% of respondents are/were “somewhat satisfied” with their work culture, while 26% are/were “completely satisfied”. More than a third (35%) of respondents are/were “completely satisfied” with their working hours, while a mere 10% are/were “completely dissatisfied” and 13% claim to be “completely dissatisfied” with the job security offered by their industry.

In terms of training and development, 24% of UAE respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” and 29% “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them. However, 30% 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 for 30% of UAE respondents. Banking and finance and oil, gas and petrochemicals/energy were also perceived as stressful sectors by 24% and 18% of respondents respectively. On the other hand, charity/volunteer work, internet/e-commerce, and agriculture were observed to be the most stressful industries only by 2%, 3% and 4% of respective respondents. Construction also tops the list for the longest working hours for a third of UAE respondents, followed by hospitality/entertainment/ tourism (25%).

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 at 1%).

The UAE banking and finance sector hires the highest proportion of fresh graduates, according to 26% of the respondents. Other industries with a propensity for hiring fresh graduates include IT/electronics/telecommunications (23%), hospitality/entertainment/tourism (19%), and government/civil service/utilities (18%).

Switching Industries

Another major finding of the survey is that only 27% of MENA respondents have changed their industry in the last two years. This was certainly the case in UAE, where 73% of respondents have not changed their industry in the last 24 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.

Close to half of those surveyed in the UAE are considering an industry change in the next few months (48%), while just under one third (31%) of the respondents “don’t know/can’t say”. For 61% of the MENA respondents who consider an industry change, a higher salary is the top reason, while 39% 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 that 60% of respondents in the UAE 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 the UAE, 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 November 22 and December 8, 2015 with respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.