Dubai Leads MBA Job Opportunities

DUBAI - Dubai, the leader in economic growth in the region, also leads in recruitment and job opportunities for MBAs.

By Abdul Basit

Published: Sat 13 Dec 2008, 1:47 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 11:21 AM

MBA demand in the UAE, especially in Dubai, over the past six years has been in line with the high growth of this region, a top official of QS World MBA Tour told Khaleej Times.

Biren Patel of QS said, “In 2003, QS brought the first World MBA Tour event to the region and we had 27 business schools. The tour has grown since then and this year we have over 80 business schools. Top schools such as Wharton, INSEAD, Duke, Cornell, Rotman and Cambridge from the US, UK, Europe and Asia took part in Dubai. Even some local business schools such as Wollongong took part in the tour.”

“The international MBA, unlike twenty years ago, is now highly competitive and schools are looking for diverse background of candidates. They want applicants from different nationalities, but also from different professional backgrounds and industries.”

He added, “The global financial crisis has no doubt hit the region. With the stabilisation of oil prices and the onset of global recessionary mechanisms, consumer demand has abated and the real estate slowdown in Dubai is very visible to all. Having said that, while Finance, Banking and Real estate are clearly effected and recruiters in this region will cut hiring, other sectors continue to flourish in Dubai.”

“The response in Dubai has been only 50 per cent as compared to the last year. But this is not owing to the current macro-economic environment but simply to the Eid holidays. We expect the application numbers to jump up to normal levels next year. We had over 1,200 people register, with over 21 per cent of them female and a host of them with over 6 years of work experience. Business Schools expressed satisfaction with the response,” Patel concluded.

Steven J. DeKrey, Senior Associate Dean Director of Masters Programmes at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology told Khaleej Times on the sideline of World MBA Tour, “It is tough time for non-MBAs during the current financial turmoil and I guess the ratio of MBAs in current redundancies is quite negligible or may be around 5 per cent,”

DeKrey added, “We have focused our attention to this region as we feel it is a vibrant market for MBA.”

In response to a question he said, “Family business is very good, but it should be done by family’s highly qualified professionals.”

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com