Top 3 industries hiring fresh graduates in UAE

The 2021 Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa survey, conducted recently by Bayt.com and YouGov, market research agency, has found that nearly 9 in 10 of UAE respondents (88 per cent) appear to be satisfied with the quality of higher education they received, with 46 per cent stating that they are very satisfied.

Interestingly, 75 per cent of respondents say they’ve considered the job availability in the field they chose to major in prior to enrolment, and over 8 in 10 respondents (82 per cent) claim that their education has prepared them to target the industry of their choice.

Jobs for fresh graduates

The most commonly studied subjects among fresh graduates in the UAE include engineering (24 per cent), accounting/ finance (19 per cent), business/ commerce/ economics (13 per cent) and information technology/ computer science (13 per cent). Almost 4 in 10 of graduates said that their college helped them identify or apply for a suitable job in a number of ways including: job announcements (39 per cent), help with CV and cover letter writing (37 per cent) and career fairs (34 per cent).

In terms of the most popular tools among fresh graduates for finding their first job, UAE respondents listed leading online job sites (51 per cent), social media sites (47 per cent), and direct applications to target companies (42 per cent).

When asked what they expect to receive in their first job, almost 8 in 10 of fresh graduates said they expect to be offered a basic salary (79 per cent) and 50 per cent expect to get housing allowance. Moreover, over 3 in 5 of current employees work in their field of study, with 43 per cent being employed full time and 19 per cent part time.

A significant number of respondents feel that the biggest challenge they face in finding a job is knowing how to approach the job search affectively (46 per cent), finding relevant jobs (38 per cent) and lacking of previous work experience (34 per cent).

Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com said: "The 2021 Bayt.com Fresh Graduate Survey offers vital insights into the current market trends, illuminates the factors driving hiring demand, and helps universities benchmark their career services practices to better position graduates for success. Fresh graduates can easily utilise different tools on Bayt.com that are designed to build their CV, develop their skills and increase their professional knowledge. They can also apply to thousands of jobs that are available on our site currently.”