Building on their current success in the region, Entrust Inc (global digital security solutions specialist) announced plans to expand its Middle East presence with the opening of a new office in Dubai Internet City, United Arab Emirates. Established in 2000, Dubai Internet City has rapidly become the Middle East and North Africa’s largest information and communication technology business park.

“With the tremendous growth the U.A.E. has experienced, establishing a local presence is a major priority to support Entrust’s current and future customers,” said Entrust President and CEO Bill Conner.

Entrust solutions and services have been widely adopted in the Middle East, including five of the top six financial institutions in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The new office will be located in Dubai Internet City and should be open by the end of 2012. So, if you are looking for new job opportunities in IT and Digital security in Dubai, it could be worth making job enquiries with Entrust Inc.

The General Directorate for Residency and Foreigner Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai has launched a new smartphone application that allows residents to make queries on visa issues.

The free app will allow users to apply for visa renewals, access M-Visa services, and elicit answers for their queries on general visa issues. The GDRFA introduced its new e-service during the 32nd edition of Gitex Technology Week which kicked off yesterday. The new service is meant to speed up transactions for the issuance of different kinds of visas and ease procedures. The new e-services of the GDRFA will offer the public an easy access to visa services and also make it easier for them to apply for different kinds of visas.

A smart TV application allowing the public to enquire about all visa and residency-related issues around the clock is also set to be launched soon. This should help to make life easier for expatriates when dealing with visa issues.

Do you know that only a small amount of job seekers find their jobs through the open jobs market, that is through: internet jobs boards, newspaper ads and ‘help wanted’ ads. While we don’t have specific figures for Dubai, some US Department of Labour figures — which I believe have universal application — suggest that only 5% of jobs are obtained through the open market and an overwhelming 95% are found through other means. These other ways of finding jobs can be broken down as follows:

• 24 % of candidate’s get jobs by cold-calling
• 23 % of candidates get jobs through agencies and careers services
• A massive 48% get jobs through referrals and word of mouth.

Yes, in most cities in the world including Dubai, I believe (and research suggests) that most jobs are being filled through this secret and hidden job market via employee referrals and word of mouth. And if you rely simply on jobs boards and help wanted ads to find work you are missing a large piece of the Dubai jobs market.

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Dubai Tourism prospects have been given a boost recently as a result of the Emirates-Quantas alliance which has been forged to give travellers a greater choice in onward connections from Dubai to Europe.

Dubai Tourism officials hope that travellers to Dubai will start to see Dubai as more than just a transit hub as the city will be more accessible, with the airlines offering 98 services a week between Australia and Dubai.

Growth in Hospitality Jobs

By year’s end, the 380-room Fairmont Palm Hotel and Resort and the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel (at 355 metres, the tallest dedicated hotel building in the world) are set to open in Dubai – and will capture the increasing flow of tourists as a result of the Emirates-Quantas deal.

This will be creating lots of hospitality job opportunities for Emirati and expatriates – so this is a good time to make enquiries to those hotels for job opportunities.

Top leaders from some of the largest information and communication technology companies in the world converge in Dubai on Sunday for a five-day showcase, which is expecting 140,000 conference attendees from 144 countries to seek innovation and redefine the future.

Now in its 32nd year, Gitex Technology Week is widely regarded as one of the world’s top three international information and communication technology (ICT) events. This year more than 625 new exhibitors are taking part from 54 countries.

According to research firm IDC, IT spending in the Middle East and Africa region will surpass $65 billion (Dh238 billion) this year, growing at nearly 12 per cent year on year.

This is a great networking opportunity for Dubai job seekers  looking to develop or progress their career in IT – as there will be representatives from over 3,500 technology companies present.

Dubai has unveiled plans for a £665 million reproduction of the Taj Mahal that will not only be four times bigger than the 17th century original but contain a shopping centre, a 300-room five-star hotel, serviced apartments and bridal wear stores.

The Taj Arabia as it will be called is expected to be completed in two years and will be part of a a bigger project called the Falconcity of Wonders, which will also feature replicas of the Pyramids, the Hanging Gardens, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China and Leaning Tower of Pisa.

New Employment Prospects? A project of this scale is going to create immediate increased demand for construction and engineering professionals in Dubai. And also, within the next 12 to 18 months, it is likely that the Taj Arabia development will start its hiring campaign for hotels staff. So, hospitality professionals interested in working in this exciting new development should keep an eye on this project.