UAE firms face shortage of Asian talent

Dubai: It may seem that Asian workers are in abundance in the UAE, yet employers say they are struggling to find the right people to fill in positions, according to the findings of a recent survey.

About 44 per cent of recruiters surveyed in the recently concluded Naukrigulf Hiring Outlook 2016 said they face maximum talent crunch when they hire people of Asian origin. 35 per cent said they struggle while hiring for middle management levels in the UAE.

While there is a strong expectation of new job openings in the UAE, 64 per cent recruiters predicted that the talent crunch will continue for the next six months.

Recruitment specialists told Khaleej Times there are particular industries that face talent crunch in the UAE. Anoop Kumar, who is a recruitment lead at SOS HR solutions, said that Asian workers would usually move to the UAE for jobs in real estate, banking or construction. "They offer higher salaries in these fields in the UAE as compared to their home countries. However it is difficult to find Asian workers in the field of Information Technology, as the salaries here aren't as great as that offered back home."

"The tedious paperwork and visa clearance is another reason that candidates give up a job offer in the Middle East," he added.

Job creation

Even as UAE firms brace themselves up for a challenging quarter, more than 50 per cent of recruiters predict new jobs to be created in the coming months.

14 per cent recruiters are predicting new jobs creation at the top level for the first half of 2016 whereas this figure was 22 per cent for the second half of 2016.

Tarun Aggarwal, Business Head- Naukrigulf.com, said

"The outlook for UAE's job market is seeing a shift in expectation of new jobs creation in spite of the slump feared due to lower oil and trading revenues. With demand for specialist occupation outweighing supply, we are witnessing an increased talent shortage for recruiters which is expected to continue in the next 6 months. Overall, the job market looks positive but with a lower expectation of increments for the workforce."

Attrition levels in UAE are expected to remain low as employees are not likely to explore other opportunities.

For the first half of 2016, 54 per cent employers said that they are enjoying single digit attrition rates and 63 per cent of recruiters are expecting attrition levels to remain stable or reduce over the next 6 months.

For the second half of 2015, 63 per cent employers enjoyed single digit attrition rates and more than 75 per cent expected attrition levels to remain stable or dip further.

Naukrigulf Hiring Outlook is a bi-annual survey which gauges the hiring sentiment in the Middle East across sectors and industries.