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Education ‘not grooming for career success’

Dubai, June 25, 2013

A fifth of professionals in the Mena region do not believe that their education adequately prepared them for success in the workplace, a report said.

This is a major impediment to career growth, as education and professional training are necessary to thrive in an increasingly competitive global arena, according to the Middle East Workplace Dynamics’ poll conducted by Bayt.com, the region’s top job site.

Other major impediments are seen to be bad managers (13.7 per cent) and the bad economy (14.9 per cent). Nine out of every 10 respondents (87.7 per cent) state that they have friends and family in the Mena region who have been affected by unemployment.

However, 62.7 per cent believe that the job market in their country of residence is picking up, among which 30.3 per cent state that it is doing so ‘very quickly’.

“In total, 21.2 per cent of respondents state that lack of education preparation is the biggest roadblock for career growth,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com.

“Professionals should start seriously looking at other methods of gaining knowledge to stay relevant, whether through further education, online resources, or training and workshops. In fact, our poll shows that professionals are searching for opportunities where they can learn and grow, so training programs in companies can help attract top-quality candidates.

“At Bayt.com, our mission is to empower people with the tools and information they need to lead their lifestyle of choice, so we are constantly creating innovative new solutions to make it easier for professionals from all industries and experiences to succeed in their careers,” he added.

The industries that are seen to attract the most talent are oil, gas and petrochemicals (30.2 per cent), followed by information technology (IT) and telecommunications (24.1 per cent). Respondents have a preference for full-time employment in a company (78.1 per cent), with only 7.9 per cent claiming to prefer entrepreneurship and 7.5 per cent preferring part-time employment in a company. A further 6.5 per cent prefer freelancing.

According to the respondents, the main reasons they left their previous job was  bad pay (19.8 per cent), finding a better role (18.1 per cent), and no clear advancement path in the organization (17.5 per cent). In their next job, the majority of professionals (20.3 per cent) are looking for companies that will help them develop their skills and provide learning opportunities and training programmes.

A good work environment (18.8 per cent) and better pay (16 per cent) follow as important factors as well.  Ideally, respondents would like to stay in a job for ‘as long as possible’ (44.2 per cent), though a fifth (19.5 per cent) claim to like to stay 3-to-5 years before moving on. Eight out of every 10 respondents (81.6 per cent) have an online CV and professional public profile, and 96.6 per cent are always open to new career opportunities.

The majority (54.2 per cent) apply for jobs regularly, though 45.8 per cent prefer to take a more passive approach to their job search and wait for employers to find them based on their online CV.

“It is very telling that in today’s connected world professionals are increasingly choosing to park their online CVs on a leading jobsite such as Bayt.com at all times whether or not they are immediately looking for a job and whether or not they are actively applying to jobs at present,” Masri said.

“At Bayt.com we have especially seen this with the fast growth of our Bayt.com People platform which is the ideal vehicle for professionals at all career levels and from all walks of life who desire to be seen by their peer community and interact with peers in other companies and countries and industries while at the same time keeping their options open for a career change and ensuring the best opportunities do not pass them by.

“Professionals today are very cognizant of the huge opportunity costs of not having a searchable online CV on a leading regional jobsite and an activated public profile.”

In terms of what professionals want most in a manager, respondents believe that the best managers are the ones who are good at mentoring and coaching (with 12.3 per cent of respondents stating so), are leaders by action (11.3 per cent), are true visionaries (10 per cent), are regular performance appraisers (8.4 per cent), are team players (5.4 per cent), are democratic consensus builders (4.2 per cent), and are strong, assertive commanders (3.6 per cent).

Meanwhile, 42.9 per cent of respondents believe that a great manager should have all the above qualities. Respondents are put off by managers who have a lack of vision (29.7 per cent), who have a command and control style (20 per cent), and who have poor mentorship and coaching skills (11.2 per cent).

On the other side of the spectrum, professionals in the Mena believe that employers today are looking for candidates with great technical skills (27.3 per cent), who are team players (16.2 per cent), and who have strong character and integrity (15 per cent). – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Mena | Bayt.com | Employment | education |

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