Advertising/ marketing/ public relations (25 per cent), healthcare/medical services (14 per cent), military/ defence/ police (13 per cent), and banking/ finance (13 per cent) are the top hiring sectors in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, new research showed on Wednesday.
According to the 2024 Fresh Graduates in the Mena Survey by Bayt.com and market research agency YouGov, in the Mena region, advertising/marketing/public relations (22 per cent) emerged as the most appealing industry to fresh graduates from a career point of view, followed by it/internet/e-commerce (19 per cent) , and business consultancy (17 per cent).
The survey was conducted to help identify which industries are most appealing to fresh graduates in the Mena region and to describe some of the challenges young job seekers face when looking for a job.
This year, many industries in the Mena are thriving with new career opportunities for fresh graduates. Interestingly, more than four in five respondents (82 per cent) are satisfied with the quality of higher education they received. Of these, 35 per cent of the total number of respondents stated that they are ‘very’ satisfied.
Respondents believe that some industries hire more fresh graduates than others because of lower salary expectations (42 per cent), while (37 per cent) believe that certain industries hire more young graduates because they are able to handle more challenges.
Ola Haddad, general manager at Bayt.com, said: “Our latest Fresh Graduates Survey reveals how young job seekers and recent graduates view the job market and identify the most attractive industries from their perspective. Bayt.com offers a range of tools to help fresh graduates build their CVs, improve their skills, and broaden their professional expertise.”
Most in-demand skills in the workplace
When asked about the top skills required to excel in the workplace, respondents mentioned computer skills (53 per cent) as the most important, followed by interpersonal/ team skills and communication skills (both at 39 per cent). In terms of their abilities, respondents rate themselves highly across most skills. Respondents across Mena consider their interpersonal/ team playing skills (89 per cent), communication skills (86 per cent), and flexibility/ adaptability to change (85 per cent)to be ‘good’ or ‘very good.’
Jobs for fresh graduates
Most Mena graduates (43 per cent) feel that the biggest challenge they face when searching for a job is not knowing how to approach the job search effectively. Not knowing how to find relevant jobs (43 per cent) is also an obstacle. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of graduates said they acquired work experience during or before college.
The nature of the job or being passionate about the job (46 per cent) emerges as the single most important factor for Mena respondents when selecting a job. Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of fresh graduates expect to be offered a basic salary for their first job, and 45 per cent expect to get personal medical insurance.
When asked what they would do if they did not find a job in their exact target job role/ industry, more than half of the Mena fresh graduates (54 per cent) said they would keep looking until they did, while 28 per cent said they would start looking into another role/ industry of their choice.
Zafar Shah, account director at YouGov said: ‘The survey offers valuable insights into aligning recruitment efforts with the aspirations of recent graduates in the Mena region. The findings reveal an increasing openness among employers to hire fresh graduates, reflecting a significant change in the skills demanded in our digital age.”
Data for the survey was collected online from a sample composed of respondents from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.