Over two thirds of employers in Kuwait plan to hire in a year

In an effort to measure hiring potential across the Middle East and North Africa, Bayt.com - the Middle East’s #1 Job Site - and YouGov - global online market research company - conducted the latest Middle East Job Index Survey. Results from the survey have revealed that, in the GCC, almost two in three (64%) employers plan to hire within the next year. Even more in Kuwait specifically, more than two thirds (67%) of employers are planning to hire within the next year.

Hiring in months

Within the next three months, almost half (48%) of all GCC employers are planning to hire. In Kuwait, almost two thirds (62%) employers said that they are “definitely” or “probably” going to hire in the next three months. Among companies in Kuwait that plan to hire within the next three months, almost half (49%) are going to hire for a “Junior Executive”, followed by 24% who intend to hire a “Coordinator”, and another 24% who intend to hire a “Manager”. When it comes to specific roles, 16% of employers in Kuwait said they are looking to hire a “Sales Executive “, another 16% are looking for a “Marketing Executive”, while 14% said they want to hire a “Customer Service Representative.”

Certain sectors will be hiring more than others over the next three months. More than half (53%) of the private sector - small/medium local companies, as well as other private sector companies intend to hire, followed by private sector - large local companies (51%) and private sector - multinational companies (49%). In terms of future hiring expectations, even more companies in Kuwait (67%) are planning to hire. Private sector - multinational companies have the highest hiring intentions in a year’s time (67%) within the MENA region.

Among employers who were surveyed, 79% claim that their company has hired new employees in the past 12 months. In fact, 48% of employers claim that new hires at their companies were made within the past three months. “In Kuwait, the hiring forecast shows a continuation of a strong job market, with nearly seven in 10 employers in Kuwait planning to hire within the next year and nearly two thirds planning to hire within three months,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.

“We have also seen that a 41% of those planning to hire in Kuwait within three months are looking to hire for more than five job roles. At Bayt.com, these findings come as no surprise to us: there are more than 10,000 jobs posted on Bayt.com on any given day and thousands of additional vacancies are filled via the CV Search tool. Our mission is to continue working very closely with the region’s employers to help them find talent. We are also always enhancing and developing our tools and information that empower and support job seekers on their journey to finding the ideal jobs.”

Skills in Demand

When it comes to academic qualification, a large number of employers in Kuwait are looking for Business Management Graduation/Post Graduation (29%), followed by Engineering Graduation/Post Graduation (22%), Commerce Graduation/Post Graduation(19%), as well as Information Technology Graduation/Post Graduation (19%).

In terms of skills in high demand, more than two thirds (70%) of employers in Kuwait are looking for candidates with “good communication skills-Arabic and English” followed by those with an “ability to work under pressure” (46%), candidates who are “teams players/ cooperative / helpful / flexible” (40%), and candidates who are “trustworthy / honest” (40%).

When employers in Kuwait look for experience, 37% look for candidates with “sales and marketing experience”, followed by good “managerial” experience - “ability to manage a team” (35%),while 29% seek candidates with “senior level experience”(7-10 years)”. Masri adds: “We encourage companies and organizations to use Bayt.com features, including our CV Search and Job Postings, when looking to hire new employees. Our tools and database of nearly 30 million CVs can help employers meet their hiring needs and ensure that they fill their vacancies as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.”

Attractiveness of job

More than four in 10 respondents in Kuwait (42%) feel that their country of residence is “more attractive” than other MENA countries as a job market. 42% of respondents also said that their industry is “more attractive” as a potential employer in comparison to other industries. The industries emerging as the ones attracting/retaining top talent in Kuwait include Banking/Finance (38%),Engineering/Design (26%), and Advertising/ Marketing/ Public Relations (26%). When it came to industries attracting/retaining top Graduate talent in Kuwait, 40% of respondents said Banking/Finance, this was followed Business Consultancy/ Business Management/ Management Consulting (25%), and Engineering / Design (23%).

When it came to industries attracting/retaining the top National talent, Banking/Finance (39%) and Telecommunications (23%) were among the most popular. In addition, the majority of respondents said that industries attracting/retaining female talent are Banking/Finance (45%), Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations (39%) and Hospitality/Recreation/Entertainment (30%). “Hiring expectancy is one of the most important areas to study in the MENA region as it can serve as a reflection on the state of the economy and general job availability,” said Anjali Chhabra, Senior Research Manager, YouGov.

“In addition to finding out the region’s hiring potential when looking at the job market, it is important to have insights on which skills, experience levels and academic qualifications are currently in high demand. With this information, job seekers can more strategically plan their efforts and search activities.” Data for the Bayt.com Middle East Job Index survey was collected online between May 19th and July 19th, 2017. Results are based on a sample of 1,474 respondents from the following countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.