Dubai: Young Emirati women are more likely to step out of their comfort zones to advance their skills and build a good career path, even if it comes at the expense of starting with slightly a lower salary, participants at the Careers UAE job fair said on Monday.
Most fresh Emirati graduates at the career fair have certain expectations for a starting salary, which they said can be between Dh15,000 to Dh20,000, however, young Emirati women said they are willing to compromise if the company, public or private, will offer them a good working experience and the right coaching and mentorship.
Employers are also aware of the change in the mindset of young women and say recent trends show that the younger generation of Emirati women are more open for challenges and are expanding their horizons.
Amna Makki, a 23-year-old Emirati communication engineering graduate was among the huge number of Emirati women who flocked the halls of Dubai World Trade Centre on the second day of the three-day fair to meet with employers and apply for vacant positions.
“I don’t mind if it’s a private or government job, but I do have a starting salary in mind which is Dh15,000,” she said. “I like to go for something within my specialisation, and if I found an offer in a company that would be willing to give me proper training but with a lower salary, I’d go for it.”
Makki said that as a fresh graduate, she believes she needs to build her experience and skills. “It’s a bonus for me and at the same time I will benefit more in the long-run.”
Echoing a similar opinion, Fatima Jaafar, 23, Zayed University graduate, said: “I studied psychology as a major and based on the market, I know that my starting salary should be Dh15,000, but getting the right training is important for me at this stage because I don’t have any experience.”
Jaafar let go of job opportunities outside her field because she said she wants to build a good career in what she likes to do.
Emirati women accounted for 82 per cent of active jobseekers in the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s database, figures revealed in a report conducted by Hopscotch.ae recently.
The report showed that women seeking to join the workforce feel the need for support in terms of flexibility (79 per cent), competitive pay (58 per cent), childcare (53 per cent), maternity leave (49 per cent) and mentorship and training (46 per cent).
Salma Al Zaabi, for example, a mother in her early 20’s, graduated as a health service administrator. She said that she left her previous job because she was unhappy with the shifts. She has an Dh18,000 salary in mind.
“As a mother, it can be challenging for me in this case to focus on the salary instead of the working hours because I’m a mother. I’m open to anything in the public or private sector.”
Asim Amiri, Emiratisation business partner at the Al Futtaim business conglomerate said based on recent trends, young job applicants, especially females, are mostly compromising flexible working hours for jobs that offer training that lead to faster career advancement.
“They are better at accepting the private sector’s timings and are more focused on how they can progress in their careers and reach high positions. Before, Emiratis focused on finding a good job with a good salary and flexible working hours, but as the country is advancing, their vision has expanded,” he said.
Amiri added that young Emirati women are committed to their jobs and feel engaged at the workplace. “Emirati women also mostly looked for office-jobs, but now they don’t mind positions outside the office.” He mentioned an example of a Emirati woman trainee who became a manager in three years.
Noora Al Haddad, Emiratisation Specialist at Al Rostamani Group said a huge number of young Emirati women have been applying at the fair since it opened.
“They are eager to know about the jobs on offer in the private sector and the timing is not a big issue for them anymore,” she said. “We noticed that they are ready to accept more challenges that they used to see as barriers before.”
The 17th edition of Careers UAE is being held until Tuesday as public and private organisations reveal a wealth of job opportunities for Emiratis across more than 15 industries.
