Survey sees demand for jobs, skills in future

Significant changes driven by technology

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 13: More than eight in ten recruiters in Kuwait believe that the hiring process is likely to change in the future, according to new research by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, and YouGov, global online market research company.

The Future of Work in the MENA 2020 survey reveals a variety of insights on the skills employees must have to be competitive, the most significant changes driven by technology, the most effective ways to hire and develop talent and the future of job seeking. Interestingly, 80% of Kuwait respondents feel either confident about the future of work and believe they will be successful, or they feel excited and see a world full of possibilities. Job skill requirements

Kuwait companies favor employees with both emotional and technical skills. Results show that while soft skills such as time management (98%), communication (98%) and teamwork (97%) are considered important today, more than half of the respondents (59%) believe that both technical and soft skills will be equally important in the future. On the other hand,more than one-third of respondents (35%) believe that only technical skills will be more important while 6% believe that only soft skills will be more important.

Organizations in Kuwait are focusing on strategically recruiting and retaining for a skilled workforce. According to respondents, technology/computer skills (96%), communication (94%) and creative thinking (94%) will be the top skills for jobseekers in the future, followed by job-specific skills (94%),time management (93%),strategic vision (92%) and global mindset (88%).

From a hiring perspective, previous job experience (92%) and CV presentation (80%) are considered as the most important factors in finding qualified people today. Cultural fit (75%),degree specialization (72%) and diversity (71%) also play a major role in hiring decisions.

Kuwait respondents say that previous job experience (87%) will continue to be the topmost factor influencing hiring decisions in the future, followed by degree specialization of the candidate (80%) and the CV presentation (80%).

“The future of work will bring technology and people together to drive experiences and intelligence in the hiring process. In these experiences, job seekers are looking for agility in how and where they work,” said Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com. “The Future of Work in the MENA survey has garnered fascinating results on current and impending workforce issues, helping us gain insight into the future of work.” Future of job roles Organizations of the future will increasingly use technology to create extraordinary workplace experiences and do things previously impossible. As technology is augmenting and enhancing jobs in Kuwait, 81% of the survey respondents believe that the demand of network administrators is likely to increase in the future along with demand for software engineers (79%), doctors (79%) and system administrators (79%).

Company management must take a leadership role in understanding the future of work and how to create a culture which is personalized, embraces career mobility and provides easy access to on-demand learning. Nearly half of the respondents believe that getting transferred to another job or department when the demand for current job role decreases should neither be easy nor difficult. Employers in Kuwait could grow and broaden