UAE job-seekers hired on the spot at career fair; key trends explained

Employers at the 25th National Career Exhibition, held at the Sharjah Expo Centre, are extending job offers to promising candidates within minutes of their interactions on Tuesday. The fair kicked off on Tuesday and is set to run until October 19 from 11 am to 6 pm.

United Arab Bank is among a few participating companies are looking out for candidates for several positions. “We are extending offer letters to right candidates on the spot in retail banking,” said Hind Al Attar, chief human capital officer at the bank.

Many entities, including ministries, private and government institutions, banking and finance companies, are offering numerous career and professional development opportunities.

The event showcases the latest employment trends and future work opportunities in numerous sectors, especially renewable energy, green building, and several other sustainable fields. The event is also providing a platform for visitors to familiarise themselves with career paths in AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, virtual reality, and data analysis, along with employment opportunities in engineering, management, information technology, customer service, finance and banking, investments, aviation, and communications.

“We have many line managers at the fair in search of the right candidates for the vacant positions. Candidates can drop in their resumes and the managers will go thoroughly through the resumes. The selected candidates will be undergoing the second round of interviews with HR. Selected candidates will be given an offer right here,” said Al Attar.

“We participate in every fair where we can attract, develop, and retain UAE national talents."

"Last month, we participated in a career fair in Dubai and offered jobs to two UAE nationals in compliance and two in retail banking,” added Al Attar.

Government entities including Air Arabia, the Ministry of Defense, Universities in Sharjah and Ajman, and banks are looking for candidates with relevant skills who can engage in face-to-face discussions.

Here is a set of currently vacant positions in different industries

Education

The University of Sharjah is hiring for 30 vacant positions open for Emirati candidates. Openings are currently in the technology department at the university which includes IT, research, lab technicians, and more. “There are also a couple of vacancies in the administration department which includes position of assistant and Human resource,” said Shouq Ali Mahboob, head of the talent acquisition section, HR dept, University of Sharjah.

“On-site interviews are conducted at the event with assessments and the selected candidates will be called for another round of interviews at the office before extending the offer letter,” added Ali Mahboob.

Banking

Many banks participated at the event including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Invest Bank, HSBC, Sharjah Islamic Bank, and Aafaq Finance.

Many banks have vacancies for compliance executives and in retail banking. “We are accepting applications here interviews are conducted for a few positions at the event. The openings are for global functions, global banking, and across various divisions,” said Shaikha Al Marri, head of coverage for Dubai and Northern Emirates, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited.

“We have various positions open for Emiratis and this year we have hired more than 55 candidates, and we are targeting to hire more than 70 next year,” said Al Marri.

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