Dubai Employment Tips

The recent calculations of the workforce in Dubai have been released, and it clearly shows the result of the billions of dollars invested in infrastructure to recruit expatriates into the financial, real estate and tourism sectors. Over ninety percent of the workforce is made up of foreigners, with men out numbering women seven to one.

This vast difference between men and women in the Dubai workforce is largely due to the fact that 45% of the workforce is in the construction sector, which naturally attracts male workers. Fortunately for women, the projected sectors with significant growth in the next two quarters are human resources, sales, marketing and public relations. A fair percentage of these positions are of mid-management level or higher.

While continued growth in the non-constructor sectors will help even the male to female worker ratio some, it is unlikely to make it a clear 50/50 due to the number of ongoing construction projects in planning stages throughout Dubai. However, many of the sectors with the high growth are seeking more females for the work force.

The public relations sector in particular is seeing a high rate of recruitment, as PR firms struggle to keep up with client demands for post-recession marketing and reputation management. A large percentage of these firms have management vacancies that they are desperate to fill. This favors well for women who were left out of the last few years frantic hiring of construction workers, as recruiters and headhunters begin their searches to fill these newly created positions.

The information technology sector is about to be in high demand, and Dubai’s leading IT firms are going to need the staff to meet the expectations of clients. It is projected that the big “IT Spend” will reach USD 4.79 billion before the year’s end. The majority of this is being spent on virtualization.

Companies today need high-level efficiency to stay competitive in their market. Many of these companies are looking at virtualization as way to trim costs, speed up processes and streamline operations. The popularity of a virtualized cloud server is due to the cost savings and enhanced security it provides. From small businesses to major financial institutions, it seems like every company is clamoring for the chance to embrace what the IT sector has to offer.

In many areas of the world, including America, information technology jobs are being cut due to the economy. The increase in interest in the UAE provides a fantastic opportunity for IT specialists from abroad to find employment in Dubai. While hiring may be slow at first, as the regions IT firms try to source employees within the UAE, the demand is expected to be higher than what the local market can provide.

Recruiters and headhunters in Dubai have commented on the expected increase in need for IT professionals, and many have hinted that salaries in this sector will also be on the rise, with the combination of business virtualization and support for consumer IT services being the driving force of the hiring demand.

It is hard to argue the fact that Dubai is one of the most luxurious places in the world to visit, with its world-class hotels and restaurants. Despite recent economic slow downs in retail across the world, luxury brands like those produced by The Rivoli Group and Bin Hendi Enterprises saw profit increases of 20-25% over last year’s sales.

Dubai was listed as the 4^th most luxurious market, just behind Paris, New York and London. Dubai was listed second worldwide in terms of global retailer presence, at 55%, beaten only by London which has 56% of the international brands. All of this bodes well for hospitality and tourism.

New luxury hotels have been appearing, and the airport is a major stimulant for the tourism industry in Dubai. MasterCard has once again endorsed travel to Dubai by sponsoring Summer Surprises 2010, which attracted 2.3 million visitors and over $3.37 billion in spending in 2009. MasterCard’s recent survey of consumer confidence reported that 88% of consumers in the UAE have plans to increase their recreational spending throughout the remainder of 2010.

In most other areas of the world, consumer spending is down and not expected to recover anytime soon. Tourism around the globe is at the lowest rates it has been in many years. Yet tourism and luxury retail in Dubai are rebounding faster than expected. Hospitality and tourism sectors should see rapid growth in the available number of open positions as the economy continues to improve, but candidate shortages may be a problem. This is good news for job seekers that want to break into the luxury hospitality and tourism industry in Dubai.

The vast amount of engineering programs offered at the many universities in Dubai should be proof enough of the future of engineering in this region. The local media in Dubai seems to announce another new company opening every day that has a full team of engineers. When you consider these facts, along with the enormous amount of infrastructure projects being planned for 2011, you can see how the opportunity for employment for engineers in Dubai is ripe for the taking now and throughout the coming year.

Over 56% of employers that were part of a survey conducted by the Job Index in April stated they would be hiring in the next quarter. Of those, telecommunications tops the list of sectors with the most planned job growth. Although many of these companies are looking to hire, severe candidate shortages may get in the way.

Many people left the emirate last year when the economy had its most significant challenges. The negative media attention surrounding the hard financial times has made people from overseas reluctant to relocate. What these people fail to understand is that compared to the global economy, Dubai is looking pretty good from a financial stability standpoint.

Proof of the stability and growth is in the sheer volume of new business headquarters being opened and planned, as well as relative stability of the banking industry. Telecommunications has been seen extremely fast paced growth, and the positions need to be filled. For engineers with a telecommunications background, getting on board with these companies looking for their expertise would be advantageous, as things will only go up from here.

According to Dr. Eli Abi Raced, the Managing Director of Eton Institute in a recent press release, the press is on to find top quality English speaking teachers to fulfill a vast amount of English as a second language, or ESL, positions throughout the UAE. The concern for vacancies has spurred Eton Institute to offer free training sessions for aspiring educators throughout the region.

Dr. Raced recently expressed his excitement at this offering that is the result of collaboration between Eton Institute and EDMI, both of which are leading learning institutions in Dubai. This news presents an extraordinary opportunity for educators throughout the region, but also proves the extent of need for qualified English speaking teachers from abroad.

The education sector in Dubai has been consistently showing growth as a steady stream of well-known universities from around the world have flocked to Dubai to set up a campus. The majority of these are part of Dubai International Academic City, a 20 million square foot campus that is the world’s one and only free zone of higher education.

Few people could argue that the UAE’s knowledge-based economy provides an amazing opportunity for students at all levels, and few areas of the world can compete with the educational standards for excellence schools in Dubai have proven to uphold. For teachers from abroad that are disappointed in the quality of education and the low standards to which schools are held, teaching in Dubai would be like a breath of fresh air.

The construction industry around the world has taken a devastating blow over the last year due to downed economies and declining numbers of new homebuyers. In the United States alone, over 2 million construction workers lost their jobs, and the majority of them still have not found work. While things may look grim for the construction industry world wide, Dubai may be a safe haven for those in the field.

For those not tied to their location and that are willing to consider relocation, Dubai is has a tremendous amount of opportunity for skilled tradesmen and site management personnel. According to a report released on July 21, 2010, the job outlook for the construction industry is more than favorable.  As it stands today, 90% of the workforce in Dubai is expatriates, and of those 45% are employed in the construction sector.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCC) expect the construction sector to boom next year. A large number of infrastructure and construction projects have already been awarded this year, with twice as many to be awarded by the end of 2010.  It is estimated that over $714.8 billion worth of projects are at the design phase right now.

The majority of the new opportunities will be in infrastructure, versus previously when real estate was the driving force in the construction market. This causes a tremendous amount of need for skilled and unskilled labor to man these projects, making now a perfect time to consider a career in Dubai.