Abu Dhabi: With the UAE being more attractive as a job market than any other country in the region, more than 60 per cent of UAE employers are definitely hiring employees in the next three months, a representative of a leading recruitment portal told Gulf News in the capital on Thursday.

“UAE hosts a mix of expatriate and local talents. Due to this, it becomes important to know which relevant skills, experience and qualification employers are specifically looking for,” Suhail Masri, vice-president of sales at Bayt.com, said.

Several fields of employment are rising now in Dubai.

“Nearly 66 per cent of UAE companies have hired new employees in the last six months, compared to 63 per cent around the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region who have done so,” he added.

What do UAE employers look for in new hires?

“Our latest research, the Bayt.com Mena Job Index Survey, which was conducted in July 2014, reveals the skills sought after by employers in potential new hires,” he said

According to the survey, employers in the UAE are looking for candidates who have good communication skills in Arabic and English (60 per cent), who are team players (50 per cent), have good leadership skills (45 per cent), and good negotiation skills (45 per cent).

“In terms of experience, employers in the UAE mostly look out for candidates who have the ability to manage a team, who have worked in sales and marketing or in administration. Keeping this in mind, jobseekers mush work on the relevant skills and experience,” he added.

“In fact 67 per cent of companies are definitely hiring in the next three months. Nearly 74 per cent claim they will either ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ be hiring, in a year’s time. Interestingly, 21 per cent of companies will look to fill up to between six to ten positions, most of which, 36 per cent, will be for junior executive roles.

According to the Bayt.com Modern Job Research in the Mena poll, which was conducted in November 2013, around 41 per cent of employers always research candidates online at first.

“It is a perfect time for jobseekers to get online and get noticed by employers,” Masri said,

Desirable qualifications

Construction, banking and finance, oil, gas and petrochemicals are the fields that require employees currently.

“When it comes to fields that require employees currently, UAE respondents believe that industries which are most attractive as well as retain the top talent are construction (39 per cent) and banking and finance (39 per cent), followed by oil, gas, and petrochemicals (35 per cent),” he said.

“However, in the next three months, UAE companies will seek sales managers (19 per cent), customer service representatives (15 per cent), human resources professionals (14 per cent), project managers (14 per cent), and executive assistants (14 per cent),” he added.

Business management and engineering are the top list qualification of candidates.

“The most sought after qualification among candidates in the Mena region is business management at graduate or postgraduate level. In the UAE, the most desirable qualification is one in engineering, followed by business management and commerce. As the UAE has developed a gamut of higher education institutions, jobseekers can easily choose to pursue these qualifications,” Masri said.