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Online recruitment gaining momentum in UAE

DUBAI - Online recruitment is gaining momentum and has become a very competitive business in the United Arab Emirates as employers are no more willing to prefer traditional recruitment, a senior executive of a job portal company said.

The ongoing Internet boom in the UAE has been a key factor in driving new business opportunities for local and regional recruitment companies, who are now taking advantage of online tools to expedite and improve their job matching and hiring activities, Sudeshna Mukherjee, General Manager of Careertunity.com, told Khaleej Times on Friday.

“Today’s new generation is more tech-savvy, so their interest and extended exposure to the web opens up many employment and career opportunities not as easily accessible through traditional recruitment approaches,” she said.

Recent Internet penetration surveys show that 70.5 per cent of the UAE population will be connected to the Internet by 2013 as against 54.3 per cent in 2008. Also, around 36 per cent of Internet users are aged 21 to 30, with 18 per cent being UAE Nationals.

“The Internet boom may provide the impetus for the UAE to address one of the country’s major developmental challenges, which is the low employment rate among Emiratis, who account for less than one per cent of the total national workforce. Online recruitment could help alleviate this situation,” she said.

“A number of recruitment firms have seamlessly expanded their coverage from the UAE to the rest of the GCC, while offering a much wider range of job offerings by leveraging the extensive reach and flexibility of Internet technology.”

She said the emergence of online technology has enabled technology-backed job portal and online recruitment firms in the region to enhance the delivery of services and develop new solutions to address new challenges.

Mukherjee said online recruitment offers a faster, more cost-effective and highly interactive alternative to traditional recruitment methods.

“Online recruitment harmonises recruitment methods and automation to ensure that the right candidate meets the right employer.”

The positive outlook of recruiters and employers has also been confirmed by a recent survey among renowned companies in Dubai, wherein a majority of respondents said they will be recruiting online, with over 52 per cent preferring to use online jobsites. The respondents further noted that online recruitment is the most cost-effective hiring method, particularly in light of the global economic downturn.

“Online recruiters understand that the regional market consists of job seekers of diverse nationalities, backgrounds, abilities, and experience. They therefore engage in multiple activities aimed at determining the right talent for the right job so that clients are provided with a relevant database,” Mukherjee said.

“We understand that we need to provide high-quality services along with value additions if we want to gain an edge in this field,” she said.

muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com