If you’ve been thinking about a move to the UAE or are already in the UAE and have been contemplating a career change, there’s a guide that’s here to help.
LinkedIn recently published a guide to the most in-demand job sectors in the country, showcasing how the job market drastically changed in 2020 due to the pandemic and will continue to do so in 2021.
This was noted by Ali Matar, the head of LinkedIn MENA and emerging markets in Europe and Africa, saying, “The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the way businesses operate and how people work, but it has also opened up opportunities as businesses continue to adapt to the pandemic.”
He went on to say, “2021 will undoubtedly be a year of continued change, but companies will also continue to look for new ways to improve services, create fresh business opportunities and strengthen their talent pools, taking advantage of a greater diversity of skills and talent in the job market.”
LinkedIn has outlined the top 15 sectors which are currently hiring which include medical professionals, digital content producers, finance and business roles and more. Aiding in the job search even more, the career network platform has outlined the top skills per sector, top locations and common job titles.
Creative professionals
With a growing demand for high-quality content, freelance writer and video producer roles are at a high right now with companies seeking skills including video production, writing, illustration, graphic design and photography.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
- Common job titles: Writer, video producer, fashion stylist, art consultant, illustrator
Specialised medical professionals
As the world has tackled the pandemic, the medical sector has soared in the demand for professionals including nurses and general practitioners. According to LinkedIn, this has increased by 112 per cent in hires. The top skills include nursing, basic life support (BLS), internal medicine, patient safety and healthcare management.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah
- Common job titles: Registered nurse, nurse, general practitioner, medical doctor, clinic pharmacist
Digital Content Freelancers
In 2020, most of the world went digital increasing online activity and a change in consumer behaviour. In turn, this has led to an increase in digital freelancers. Top skills for this sector included YouTube, blogging, social media marketing, creative writing and video production.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai
- Common job titles: Content coordinator, blogger, YouTuber, podcaster
Healthcare support staff
Just as the need for medical professionals increased, so did support staff in the same sector, by a reported 129 per cent. This includes laboratory assistants and clinical managers with skill sets including haematology, infection control, microbiology, laboratory skills and clinical research.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman
- Common job titles: Medical laboratory technologist, laboratory assistant, healthcare assistant, medical consultant, clinic manager
E-commerce
As mentioned, consumer buying habits changed drastically in 2020 with everything going digital and as a knock-on effect e-commerce exploded, especially in the UAE. Top designer brands including Hermes, Dior, Prada and more went online, and small businesses also had to move online. The top skills sought in this industry are digital marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO) and e-commerce.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai
- Common job titles: E-commerce coordinator, online specialist
Digital Marketing Specialists
In line with e-commerce, an increase in digital marketing specialists has also seen a 71 per cent growth. Top skills include influencer marketing, content strategy, digital marketing, market research and Google ads.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah
- Common job titles: Digital marketing manager, social media manager, social media marketing specialist, marketing director, social media marketing manager
Business development and sales
With demand in the software and technology industries increasing, this resulted in more salespeople being hired in the UAE to capitalise on this growth, contributing to a 74 per cent growth in business development and sales hires. The top skill set for these roles includes business development, customer relationship management, lead generation, team management and sales management.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman
- Common job titles: Business development specialist, business development associate, vice president of sales, sales team lead
Professional and personal coaches
Due to several roles being impacted across several industries, many of those affected adjusted their career paths to become personal and professional coaches which led to a 207 per cent growth in these roles compared to 2019.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai
- Common job titles: Life coach, leadership coach
Education
Demand for education roles, particularly within universities in the UAE, increased. Specifically teaching assistant roles at New York University Abu Dhabi and American University of Sharjah were in high demand.
- Top locations hiring: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah
- Common job titles: Teaching assistant, high school teacher, English second language teacher, career counsellor, curriculum developer
Language services
The need for language services and proofreading increase by 134 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.
- · Top locations hiring: Abu Dhabi, Dubai
- · Common job titles: Translator
Business roles
Business-related roles soared in 2020 with many of these job openings for top management positions.
- · Top locations hiring: Dubai
- · Common job titles: Managing partner, outreach manager, head of compliance, organisational development manager, strategic partner
Technology
The UAE witnessed a 61 per cent growth of technology hires in 2020.
- · Top locations hiring: Dubai, Abu Dhabi
- · Common job titles: Web Developer, front-end developer, user interface designer, product design consultant, cybersecurity analyst
Specialised engineering roles
In 2020, engineering roles grew by 72 per cent particularly in biomedical engineering, marine engineering and audio engineering.
- · Top locations hiring: Dubai
- · Common job titles: Biomedical engineer, marine engineer, materials engineer, audio engineer, machine learning engineer
Finance roles
The expertise of financial professionals was highly sought after in 2020, with this category seeing a 63 per cent growth.
- Top locations hiring: Abu Dhabi, Dubai
- Common job titles: Corporate finance manager, finance business partner, equity trader
Online news and journalism
With the outbreak of pandemic and the appetite to stay up-to-date on the ever-developing situation, the need for news and information online grew.
- Top locations hiring: Dubai, Abu Dhabi
- Common job titles: Editor, journalist, television producer
