Hope for UAE job-seekers: Hiring to pick up pace in 2017
Issac John

December 28, 2016 at 7.23 pm


Forty four per cent of upcoming positions in the UAE will be in the mid management level.
The New Year bodes well for job seekers in the UAE following almost a year of dry spell as recruitment is expected to pick up.

"After a long slump, recruitment is expected to make a rebound in the UAE in early 2017," according to classifieds website EZHeights.

The website's prediction is that there would be a 30 per cent increase in demand for employees across different industries.

"2016 witnessed a slew of layoffs and cautiousness from employees about expanding their workforce," said Adham Saleh, the CEO of EZHeights. He said the website has witnessed a 30 per cent hike in both job postings by employers and job seekers as well.

"The vacancies section on the website has been seeing a steady increase in the number of posts from employers since late 2016 and is expected to continue into 2017," said Adham. Hiring by companies invested in engineering, construction and real estate, IT and chemicals witnessed a negative growth in 2016.

Providing a more positive outlook for 2017, Adham said a number of projects currently in the pipeline, including those slated for Expo 2020, will soon open up several job opportunities for young job seekers in the UAE.

Most HR consultants expect that growth and investment opportunities in the run-up to Expo 2020 would result in large-scale job creation in the UAE.

According to Monster.com, the pick-up in new jobs would gather momentum closer to Expo 2020. The real momentum will kick in around 2017 onwards.

LinkedIn's 'Middle East and North Africa Recruiting Trends 2017' shows that attracting new recruits will remain a key focus for organisations across the UAE and the rest of the Middle East and North Africa region.

According to a survey conducted with recruiters, 44 per cent of upcoming positions in the UAE will be in the mid management level and 25 per cent in the senior management level. The sector that shows a remarkable increase the rate of employee hiring is construction in the run-up to Expo 2020.

HR experts also predict a surge in hiring of professionals with background and experience in the registration/collection of value-added tax as the implementation draws near.


Source
- Isaac john

khaleejtimes