The first World Energy Forum to be held outside of the United Nations Headquarters in New York opened in Dubai. This major energy policy summit which has attracted heads of states, energy ministers and industry leaders to the UAE is a three day forum and a great networking opportunity for Dubai based energy professionals, be they Contractors, Engineers, Developers and Designers.

You will be able to network with investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and governments looking to develop and invest in new projects, as well as suppliers, consumers, competitors and other key stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy industry.

If you are registered to attend,  make sure to read our networking guide so you can get maximum benefit from attendance. Even if you can’t attend, you can still social network with the World Energy Forum via the Facebook or Twitter page — but make sure to read our social networking guide too.

Its looks like 2012 was the year that social media really went big in the Middle East, especially in Dubai. The figures that were reported in March earlier this year in The National showed that nearly one million people in the Emirates had joined Linked-In, the site through which you can network and market your skills and find out about Dubai job opportunities.

What is astounding about these figures is that social media usage in the Emirates is higher than in any other Arab country, and much higher than countries with much larger populations, for example Saudi Arabia has only 600,000 members and Egypt has 500,000 members. Nearly, 16% of the working population in the Emirates are now using Linked-In and if you want to progress in the professional sector in Dubai you must have a first class Linked-In profile and all-round professional brand on social media.

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First Solar, Inc.  today announced it has been selected by the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) to construct a 13 megawatt (MWDC) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Seih Al Dahal, approximately 50 kilometers south of Dubai.

Under the terms of the agreement, First Solar will provide engineering, procurement and construction services, as well as its advanced thin-film PV modules.

First Solar recently opened an office in Dubai and is in an advanced stage of establishing an office in Saudi Arabia as well. This is likely to create more job opportunities for engineering, construction, and procurement professionals within First Solar in the Dubai Area so this could be a good time to contact First Solar to express an interest in working for them and provide them with a current version of your CV.

In a step that reinforces its aggressive expansion strategy across the Middle East, AXA Insurance Gulf – one of the largest and the leading non-life international insurers in the region - today announced the opening of its new offices for the UAE and regional operations at the futuristic Business Bay development in Dubai.

The iconic office, located at Level 39 & 40, Churchill Executive Tower in Business Bay, is AXA Gulf’s 5th branch in the UAE. The office will have an employee-strength of 150 where the entire range of AXA’s commercial lines will be served there except for the personal lines that will be still handled at the Wafi branch.

The company also announced its plans to have 22 branches by the end of 2012, to further build on its market leadership across the Middle East.

If you are looking for jobs or a career in the Financial Services sector in Dubai then AXA seems to be the place to start making enquiries. But, why not firstly polish up your CV before making an application.

Peter Goddard is the MD of TRI Hospitality Consulting and watches hotel occupancy around the region like a hawk. Here he explains why it is likely to be a great end to the year for the Dubai hotel sector.

Average occupancy levels for the first seven months of the year reveal Dubai continues to be the region’s preferred destination achieving 82.3 per cent, while Abu Dhabi’s occupancy level was substantially lower at 67.8 per cent. Running up to the New Year, Dubai can expect to see an increase in demand as the market enters the high season period — which will see leading shopping malls in the city open for 24 hours [a day] during the weekends surrounding the holiday period.

Dubai can expect to see a boom in hospitality jobs to cope with this forecast surge in tourism towards the end of the year – which makes it a great time for you to start networking, cold calling and searching for hospitality jobs in Dubai.

We wrote just recently about the fascinating statistic that only 5% of jobs are filled through the open market, that is, via jobs boards effectively. This means that a massive 95% of jobs are found through the secret job market, through three crucial channels and these were:

• Cold-calling; 24% of candidates get jobs this way
• Agencies; 23% of candidates get job this way
• Networking/word of mouth; 48% of candidates get jobs this way.

In our last article on unlocking the hidden job market in Dubai we talked about how you can find out the latest  job gossip by networking with professionals on the internet or at business events like Gitex Technology week.

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