Dubai Employment Tips

Dubai ranks highest in the Middle East in terms of quality of life, followed by Abu Dhabi, a new survey suggests.

According to HR consultancy Mercer’s annual report, the two emirates are top in City Infrastructure as well among Middle Eastern cities.

Dubai beats Geneva (47), Miami (48), San Francisco (55), Barcelona (57), Rome (72) and Kuala Lampur (77).

The ratings are compared using New York as a base city, and weigh factors like political and social stability, education, public services and housing, among others. Infrastructure, and its affect on life quality, was scaled for the first time.

The results are intended to help governments understand what factors affect residents’ quality of living, and designed for multinational companies to “compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments,”

This further underlines that Dubai is the leading place in the middle east to start or continue an expatriate career.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has called on the private sector to take part in initiatives which help get more Emiratis into the workplace, says a report in the The National.

At the launch of the “Absher” Initiative in Abu Dhabi yesterday, Sheikh Mohammed praised the UAE’s campaign to promote Emiratisation. The Absher initiative is a programme aimed at strengthening Emiratisation, particularly in the private sector. Sheikh Mohammed also called on the companies who have not yet joined the initiative to come forward and join it without delay, Wam reported.

He added that the private sector controls about five million jobs and is the biggest operator in the country.

“We have secured 1,186 jobs for Emirati jobseekers so far since May 2012, and we are looking to hire 20,000 Emiratis within five years in the private sector,” Sheikh Mansour said.

As you can see, 2013 is set to be full of employment opportunities for Emirati.

In a strong signal of Dubai’s fast-growing position as one of the world’s leading medical capitals, the healthcare market in the emirate is projected to be worth $10.9 billion (Dh40 billion) by 2013, suggests a report in zawya.com.

The two major factors driving this growth are the increased investments by government and international investors, as well as Dubai’s emerging role as a leading destination for medical tourism. The substantial growth in investments is expected to yield a sharp rise in new medical institutions, research and medical education facilities.

In addition to new institutions, Dubai is also receiving growing interest from international pharmaceutical companies who are striving to make breakthroughs in medical cures. This trend is further boosted by the ever-growing number of highly skilled professionals who are applying to work in Dubai. What is particularly notable is that Dubai’s leading hospitals such as Saudi German Hospital-Dubai have attracted professionals from some of the world’s most prestigious medical institutions in Europe and elsewhere.

Dubai is certainly proving itself to be a great place to start or continue your career in the healthcare or pharmaceutical sector.

Using a mentor may not be the first thing that the average Dubai professional thinks off when they are looking at ways to develop and advance their career.  But, I think it should not be lightly dismissed and, it deserves a second look, as there is good evidence emerging that a mentoring relationship can be highly beneficial to your career in Dubai.

For example, consider the case study of Sun Microsystems; they looked at the career advancement of over 1,000 employees during the course of five years and found that the careers of those who had been mentored were indeed super-charged. Yes, the Sun Microsystems study found that employees who were mentored were around 20% more likely to get a pay rise than staff who do not take part in the mentoring programme.

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At the meeting of the UAE Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, labelled 2013 as Emiratisation year. A host of governmental initiatives and policies will therefore enhance the Emirati presence in the workforce.

Many Emiratisation initiatives have been launched in the recent past. The Ministry of Labour for instance announced earlier this year that all front desk staff at Tas’heel centres must be Emirati.

The Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi also said in 2011 that it hopes to reduce the unemployment rate among Emiratis to less than 5 per cent by 2030.

Recent reports showed that certain industries still find it challenging to achieve Emiratisation targets each year, including many private sector firms, the hotel industry as well as finance, insurance and currency exchange sectors.

To overcome these challenges, regular training programmes are offered by Tanmia, and many public sector organisations, such as the Abu Dhabi Education Council, also offer frequent training opportunities for Emirati employees and trainees.

According to a report in today’s National, the Dubai recruitment scene is hotting up. The headhunters are back. After a couple of post-crisis years when pickings were lean in the executive recruitment business, especially in the Middle East, the hiring and firing cycle has picked up again.

Michael Morcos, the managing partner in one of the biggest headhunting firms, Heidrick & Struggles, with responsibility for the region, says “industries in the region are actively hiring and big money can be made in sectors such as energy and engineering.”

Different skills required though

Before the 2008 financial crisis, Michael Morcos explains, “executive searches for senior positions with Middle East firms tended to go global, looking for the best in the world.  Now firms want people who, above all, have experience in the region.”