DUBAI JOBS NEWS
UAE looking for highly-skilled workers
ABU DHABI, Nov 29, 2011
The United Arab Emirates’s Minister of Labour Saqr Ghobash Tuesday said his country’s needs were gradually shifting from a labour-intensive market to knowledge-based economy requiring highly skilled workers and welcomed those who meet the demand. The Labour Minister was talking to a group of international journalists from 43 countries, who are here to witness the development of the Emirates over the past four decades. He said the dynamics of the labour market have changed significantly over the years and with work on major infrastructure projects almost over, there was now a demand to run these and required highly qualified people.
He said the real estate boom had also subsided to a large extent and the need for cheap unskilled workers was diminishing.
When asked about the decline in demand for more Pakistani workers in the UAE, he said it was the discretion of the employers to hire from where they would like to and the government had nothing to do with it.
Around 1.2 million Pakistanis are working in the Emirates, with the majority in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Most of them are in transportation sector besides a large number working with banks and other multinational companies.
According to the Pakistan-UAE Business Council, there are currently 6,000 Pakistani companies actively operating in the country and Pakistanis had invested a total of 6.7 billion Dirhams in Dubai real estate alone.
The UAE Minister mentioned that workers of around 200 nationalities were today helping build the Emirates and constituted a huge 90 percent of the total population. He did not agree that these demographics had a negative impact on the local Emirati population and said with the new demand declining, things would improve over the years, rather he termed them a “face of development”.
The Labour Minister said the UAE has set up a National Qualification Authority that would set clear standards for the skilled labour that enters into the country and would enhance productivity.
He said the UAE was also working on a recruitment policy that would be based on the market demand, the existing and future shortage, the availability in the local market and the requirements from abroad.
Ghobash said there was a demand for 800,000 skilled jobs in the UAE, while the country still had around three million unskilled labour. He said the UAE had embarked on the rationalization plan and was getting the labour according to the internationally laid down criterion of five slabs - ranging from highly skilled to unskilled class.
He said the first priority of his government was now to provide jobs to the locals and said he expected that in next ten years, around 200,000 local youth would be vying with the expatriates for jobs.
The Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash said the UAE has initiated a unique workers wage protection system, under which the salaries are paid through the banks and electronic system has been put in place to check any violators.
He said 250,000 companies have adopted he system, while others would join soon.
He said all workers compounds were being upgraded to ensure these meet international requirements, while under another major shift the government has now allowed the workers to get out of the contract, after the initial two years period, and join some other employer.
He said his country was considering various schemes for the social protection of expatriates working in the country and was framing laws that meet international standards. He said the immediate focus remains, however, on enforcing the current end-of-service scheme and protecting the worker against non-compliance or default by the employer.
When asked about the decline in demand for more Pakistani workers in the UAE, he said it was the discretion of the employers to hire from where they would like to and the government had nothing to do with it.
Around 1.2 million Pakistanis are working in the Emirates, with the majority in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Most of them are in transportation sector besides a large number working with banks and other multinational companies.
According to the Pakistan-UAE Business Council, there are currently 6,000 Pakistani companies actively operating in the country and Pakistanis had invested a total of 6.7 billion Dirhams in Dubai real estate alone.
The UAE Minister mentioned that workers of around 200 nationalities were today helping build the Emirates and constituted a huge 90 percent of the total population. He did not agree that these demographics had a negative impact on the local Emirati population and said with the new demand declining, things would improve over the years, rather he termed them a “face of development”.
The Labour Minister said the UAE has set up a National Qualification Authority that would set clear standards for the skilled labour that enters into the country and would enhance productivity.
He said the UAE was also working on a recruitment policy that would be based on the market demand, the existing and future shortage, the availability in the local market and the requirements from abroad.
Ghobash said there was a demand for 800,000 skilled jobs in the UAE, while the country still had around three million unskilled labour. He said the UAE had embarked on the rationalization plan and was getting the labour according to the internationally laid down criterion of five slabs - ranging from highly skilled to unskilled class.
He said the first priority of his government was now to provide jobs to the locals and said he expected that in next ten years, around 200,000 local youth would be vying with the expatriates for jobs.
The Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash said the UAE has initiated a unique workers wage protection system, under which the salaries are paid through the banks and electronic system has been put in place to check any violators.
He said 250,000 companies have adopted he system, while others would join soon.
He said all workers compounds were being upgraded to ensure these meet international requirements, while under another major shift the government has now allowed the workers to get out of the contract, after the initial two years period, and join some other employer.
He said his country was considering various schemes for the social protection of expatriates working in the country and was framing laws that meet international standards. He said the immediate focus remains, however, on enforcing the current end-of-service scheme and protecting the worker against non-compliance or default by the employer.
source: Associalted press of pakistan
Oct 9, 2011, story by Kamal Singh
Abu Dhabi: The two-day World Economic Forum on the global agenda in Abu Dhabi was marked open by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday.
Shaikh Mohammad was accompanied by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, Mohammad Omar Abdullah, undersecretary for the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Developerment.
Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the UK, gave a speech on the state of the world economy.
The summit in Abu Dhabi is being attended by some 800 delegates from around 80 countries is going to discuss financial and economic issues, food security and renewable energy.
Sept 2009
Increase in Financial jobs
Recruitment for the financial sector has started picking up in the region and estimates point to a 17 to 20 per cent increase this quarter compared to the previous three months.
Industry executives said companies, particularly international ones, are expected to allocate higher budgets towards recruitment and training of their staff in 2010.
As economic sentiment gets positive, the financial sector, which saw heavy lay-offs during the onset of the crisis, is preparing to seize business opportunities by hiring the right kind of people. However, the current focus is on hiring specialists and high-calibre staff who will help generate revenues and, in most cases, fill the positions that are left vacant.
Robert Half UAE, a recruitment company that has published its Salary Guide UAE 2009-2010, said demand for finance and accounting specialists in the UAE continued, whereas there was a drop in demand for support functions such as human resources and IT.
Placement consultants and analysts said it is an opportune time to hire staff at "realistic salaries". As per estimates there has been a 20 per cent decline in salaries this year and, with manpower available at lower costs, the analysts advise that organisations should not delay hiring further if they are to take advantage of the economy picking up.
The financial sector, including banks and asset management firms, took a beating during the economic crisis and saw massive job cuts globally. A report by Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said 15 million job cuts took place between end of 2007 and July 2009. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated global unemployment rate to increase to 7.1 per cent and 51 million jobs to be lost in 2009 compared to six per cent in 2008 and 5.7 per cent in 2007.
Of the total job losses, the financial sector contributed a major share.
However, the past three months have reported relative stability in job cuts globally and, if placement consultants are to go by, positive sentiment has started showing results in jobs markets.
In a survey of 1,500 people conducted by Naukri?gulf.com, more than 60 per cent of respondents said that had started to hire again.
"Companies have definitely started hiring now. Our survey showed that more than 60 per cent are recruiting people again. Jobs on our website have increased. Now, post Ramadan, there is an increase in activity," Rahul Khar, Zonal Manager of Naukrigulf.com, told Emirates Business.
After the job cuts, uncertainty about improvement in economic conditions has seen companies adopting a wait and watch policy. However, the same appears to be giving way to hope about betterment resulting in a focus on seizing the opportunities that businesses foresee in near future, the consultants said.
James Sayer, Senior Manager at Robert Half UAE, said: "Finance and accounting has fared better than other sectors due to the need to having strong F&A functions during a downturn, with a real focus on treasury, financial control and accounts payable positions."
May 7 2009
The UAE economy has created in excess of 660,000 jobs in just six months and this shows the global financial turbulence has had little impact on the country’s labour market, the Acting Director of the Ministry of Labour said yesterday.
“When we talk about the global crisis and whether if it has affected the labour market in the UAE and other GCC countries, I say yes because we are part of the global economy and Dubai and the UAE are part of the global system,” Dimas told the Qatari Aljazeera satellite TV channel.
According to a recent survey conducted by Emirates Business, the UAE has emerged as the largest job generator in the GCC, accounting for almost 50 per cent of the total new jobs.
Source: Business 24/7
March 9 2009
Dubai's population and job opportunities are still growing
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UAE economy is expected to grow about three per cent this year. Although the IMF did not make any specific projection on the economic growth of the UAE, Massod Ahmad, IMF director for Middle East and Central Asia, said the UAE economy is not in recession and the IMF is "comfortable" with the growth forecasts of about three per cent made by the government.
The UAE national GDP growth this year to be between 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent. For Dubai it is expected it to be slightly less than that....Dubai's real GDP growth was more than eight per cent last year, whereby sectors such as real estate, construction and tourism have been challenged by the global economic gloom.
source http://1426.blogspot.com/2009/02/dubais-population-and-job-opportunities.html
Feb 18 2009
The UAE's economy is solid enough to withstand the global economic crisis
The UAE's economy is solid enough to withstand the global economic crisis and its banks and financial institutions will not crumble like those in the United States, said the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Analysing the performance of the US economy, especially its banking sector, in the events leading up to the global crisis, the report said in 2006, US banks offered some 40 per cent of new mortgage funds to borrowers with no good credit records.
This was coupled with a high loan to value ratio, insufficient purchasing power and high financial risks. And when real estate prices started to go down, the sub-prime crisis broke out in the US, which was worsened by the so-called Credit Default Swap (CDS) that was amplified from nothing to a market worth of $55 trillion (Dh201.8trn).
Non-performing debts and CDSs led to gaps in bank budgets. Even if the US bailout plan pays the fair market value of these assets, they will not repair the gaps.
The US government is not working to resolve the problem of failure to repay real estate mortgages, the report said.
The economic recovery plan hatched by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is like supplying a patient with vast amounts of blood where the patient suffers from haemorrhage. And this explains why the problem will not be solved, said the report. While the parties behind the catastrophe get rewarded, the taxpayer shoulders the burden of the consequences, it added. And now that globalisation has led to a merger of global systems, all countries share the burden.
Comparing and contrasting the UAE economy with the US, the Dubai Chamber report said business infrastructure in the UAE differs from US and other Western countries, especially with regard to ownership. Around 95 per cent of companies in the UAE are small and medium-sized family firms working mostly in trade through utilising family capital, with little or no reliance on the global stock markets.
Accordingly, the effects of the financial crisis on family-owned companies are expected to be relatively mild and may be confined to non-direct ones through shrinking demand for re-exports.
Speaking about the challenges facing the UAE economy on a sector-by-sector basis, the report said the country's industrial sector is relatively insulated from global upheavals.
The UAE's economic infrastructure is very flexible, especially with Dubai being a commercial attraction and not a production centre that requires long-term huge financing.
While oil infrastructure and production facilities of commodities such as aluminium, petrochemicals, energy and building materials are similar to those of advanced countries, the UAE entities have accumulated sufficient reserves that can be used during the current crisis, the report highlighted. Also, such entities are fully owned by the government and can easily obtain government funds, it added.
Analysing the country's financial sector, the report said the UAE's banks, for which government support was vital in the past, have managed to grow and net big profits, thus building up huge reserves. Compared to other economies, UAE banks rely less on external financial markets.
source: http://www.powerandwaterme.com/images/pdf/UAEeconomystrongenoughtowithstandfinancialcrisis12Nov08EB.pdf
Feb 17 2009
UAE job market to benefit from rapid regional and global growth of services sector Applicants of various nationalities, experiences and work backgrounds attended the event, which highlighted how domestic job demand remains strong despite a population growth of around 7 per cent over the past 10 years. Vacancies were introduced across all fields, with employers from the health and pharmaceutical, engineering, telecommunications, education, financial, media, sales and marketing, and customer services and administration sectors expressing particularly strong interest for competent and highly-motivated candidates
source: http://www.ameinfo.com/185008.html
Feb 11 2009
Gulf real estate still looks promising According to Moody’s Investors Service, analysis of real estate in the Gulf Coast is difficult. This is mostly result of the lack of consistent information on the real estate sector in this area. However, despite this, it is easy to see that the outlook for real estate in this area is still strong even with the global economic crisis.
There is no question that many parts of the world are experiencing a slump in real estate activity. One of the areas that so far has proved exceptional is the Middle East, especially Dubai.
Moody's Investor Service recently released a report that shows the Middle East property market is experiencing growth that will be sustainable for years. The report cites a demand for new housing, office and retail space which will continue to climb while supply will most likely not be able to keep pace.
The role of Middle Eastern governments in assisting developers cannot be overlooked. The government has allowed large tracts of land to be developed by many government-owned real estate developers. These areas experience growth in a fairly short period of time. When compared with more mature markets, there is a lot in the Middle East that makes its market unique. This has allowed the area to continue growth despite the property market woes elsewhere.
source http://www.propertywire.com/news/middle-east/gulf-real-estate-still-looks-promising-20080302589.html
Dec 19 2008
London mayor says, Dubai may take over London as Finance Centre
The good news for Dubai is that somebody thinks it may overtake the City of London as one of the world’s top financial centres. The bad news is that it is Boris Johnson saying it.
Mr Johnson is the accident-prone, eccentric journalist who was recently voted mayor of London.
While Londoners are adjusting to one of the sharpest economic downturns in the City’s history, and suffering from a cold snap, you might expect the mayor to try to spread some good cheer. Instead, he is beginning to sound like Scrooge.
“Bah humbug,” says Mr Johnson, or words to that effect.
A report commissioned by his office said that financial institutions may leave London for places offering lower taxes, more attractive regulation and other incentives such as grants.
“Other centres are simply more co-ordinated, more strategic and more aggressive,” said Bob Wigley, the chairman of Merrill Lynch for Europe, Middle East and Africa, who led the panel of executives who wrote the report.
The report blamed aggressive competition from other cities such as Dubai, more EU regulation, unpredictable taxation, high living costs and transport bottlenecks.
It made a number of recommendations including upgrading the City’s infrastructure, improving regulation and establishing a new body to promote its role as a financial centre.
“Whatever the mistakes of the financial services industry, and they were grievous… it is a fundamental and catastrophic mistake to believe that we can somehow afford to run down the City of London,” said Mr Johnson.
The City employs 500,000 people, makes up 11 per cent of Britain’s total income tax and 15 per cent of corporation tax. It contributed £42 billion (Dh236.09bn) in tax in 2007-2008.
“We are seeing a shift to more regional financial centres instead of global ones such as New York and London,” said Deepak Tolani, a senior associate at Al Mal Capital in Dubai.
“Both London and New York have in the past led from the front in terms of product innovation, idea generation and capital flows. They are now suffering from the excesses of the past
Dec 16 2008
Developer says results show that Dubai's real estate market still lucrative
Bahrain-based global investment bank International Investment Bank (IIB) has made an impressive 114% return on its investment In Omniyat Properties' maiden project One Business Bay, IIB after accepting an offer from the Dubai-based property developer to make an early investment exit, in what Omniyat said was proof that Dubai's property market was still healthy and as lucrative as ever.
The International Investment Bank (IIB) and Omniyat Properties the property development arm of Omniyat Holdings, announced today that they have concluded an agreement under which the up and coming property developer bought back the 50% stake which IIB took in its debut project, One Business Bay, in December 2005.
The deal came after Omniyat Properties put together an early exit strategy and presented it to the bank. The strategy allowed IIB to make a staggering 114% return on its investment, and cash out more than 18 months ahead of schedule. it was adopted by the bank after it was approved by the Board of Directors.
Just over a year ago, and two months before Omniyat's official launch, the bank had paid an undisclosed amount for a 50% stake in the AED 507 million 30-storey commercial tower located at the entrance of Dubai's Business Bay commercial district on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Dec 12 2008
The property market in Abu Dhabi is in a good position to resist the global real estate downturn because it is still relatively new, according to analysts.
At a time when many nations in the world are fearful of the credit crunch, property developers in Abu Dhabi are confident that demand will outstrip supply for some considerable time.
'In contrast to Dubai, where the earliest off-plan investment opportunities saw completion in 2002, the first completed units in Abu Dhabi will only be delivered in late 2009,' said James Gonzalez, market analysts at Obelisk International.
'Abu Dhabi remains a relatively new option for foreign buyers and lacks the market saturation of Dubai. It still remains an emerging market,' he added.
Although it is one of the world's largest producers of oil, Abu Dhabi decision to diversify into other sectors such as the property and tourism markets, is regarded as a positive.
Also the government is taking steps to protect the economy. In recent weeks it has pumped $33 billion into the banking system. Fitch Ratings expressed its approval of the government's moves to guarantee liquidity in the banking system.
'The risks of a UAE bank suffering a capital markets-driven liquidity crisis are limited as none of the banks are reliant on these markets. Their funding bases are predominantly based on retail and corporate deposits, with the balance as inter-bank borrowings and some limited debt capital market issuance,' said Robert Thursfield, Director of Fitch's Banks team.
One of Abu Dhabi's leading developers is also confident. 'Abu Dhabi is strongly positioned to weather the current economic crisis and the real estate market will be one of the main beneficiaries of that strength,' said Gurjit Singh, chief development officer, Sorouh Real Estate.
'With the local population set to grow steadily in the medium to long term, demand for homes in well-considered, sustainable developments will remain,' he added.
Dec 10 2008
Dubaijobs.net is happy to welcome Microsoft to our list of employers
Dec 10 2008
The UAE emirate of Ajman plans to establish a regulatory body along the lines of Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) early next year to watch over property developments. The new body will be responsible for regulating and managing the emirate's property sector, which will include the enforcement of an escrow account law, a system under which all money collected by developers from buyers is used solely for the construction of a project. The escrow regulations form part of Ajman's property law, which was introduced in June.
Dec 9 2008
Azizi Investments revealed yesterday that none of its projects in the Palm Jebel Ali has been scaled down and that work will continue as scheduled.
The clarification came, following the announcement made by Nakheel that few of its projects in Palm Jebel Ali may be scaled down.
Azizi Investments have a total of five projects planned at the Palm Jebel Ali. The concept design of Azizi Crystal at Crescent A of the Palm received approval last week.
The Company in its statement yesterday, said that the developments at Palm Jebel Ali are located in Crescent A and Crescent E, wherein work by Nakheel is progressing as scheduled.
The land will be handed over to Azizi Investments by Nakheel next year. Crescent A is scheduled to be complete, latest by March, and construction work will commence by April. The project would require 2 years for completion, said a spokesperson from the company.
The land in Crescent E will be handed over by the third quarter of 2009.
The projects by Azizi Investments on the Palm Jebel Ali are the Azizi Diamond, Azizi Fontanne, Azizi Crystal and Azizi Platine on Crescent A, and Azizi Onyx on Crescent E. The company is committed to deliver the project as scheduled.
"We are focusing on quality of design, quality of build and outstanding customer service. We understand the need for Nakheel to scale back on its projects, given the current economic climate, but we are pleased that this does not affect our progress," the company said.
The company also confirmed that it is moving ahead with projects at Mina Rashid and Al Furjan and other Nakheel projects that remain unaffected.
The company also said that the Dh.3.5bn worth construction contract for the 12 plots that it owns at Al Furjan would be awarded soon. The company is under negotiations with various companies, including Arabtec, Al Naboodah and Al Shafar General Contracting for awarding the contract. The soil testing and piling work has been completed.
Dec 9 2008
In a bid to keep the real estate industry going, the real estate brokers and developers are said to have begun offering several good payment options, so as to convince end-users into the market.
According to the Chief Executive of Dynasty Zarooni, Kabir Mulchandani, the current short-term problem needs to be tackled, as several buyers do not have access to mortgage or loans. Hence, the company has launched a monthly payment scheme, so that customers could enter the market in a bigger way. The company has also lowered their prices of both freehold and rental properties. Several of their properties have been placed into the rental market from the freehold sales.
"The flexi-payment scheme will help release the stocks, which will get utilized by end-users in the market, as there is a high demand for new supplies in the market," Mulchandani said.
Peter Penhall, the Chief Executive of Gowealthy.com, an online property portal, said that the market is now correcting itself and there is a liquidity crunch, while the banks are also tightening lending measures. The company has launched a sales campaign for Axis Residences at Dubai Silicon Oasis by GGICO. About 657 units were released and the buyers were allowed to make payments in 100 monthly installments, with three percent down-payment while registering for the property.
Emaar Properties, last month, launched the 'To Own' schemes which were meant to make property purchases much easier for customers. The programmes, titled "Plan to Own" and "Rent to Own" were aimed to strengthen the property sector by enabling easier purchases and making property purchase more affordable for customers.
The Executive Chairman of Omniyat Properties, Mehdi Amjad, also agreed that with mortgages getting harder to obtain these days, his company is also considering new payment plans to motivate customers. Earlier, Omniyat had launched a 50-50 payment plan, wherein 50 percent payment was paid during construction and the rest 50 percent was paid upon completion of the project. The company agrees that a similar payment program would soon be launched.
According to officials, smart marketing techniques, attractive payment schemes, a good price, and a good product, could all help developers to ride out of the current real estate slump.
Dec 9 2008
Deyaar Development PJSC, the fastest growing property company in Dubai, has announced that all residential units at Al Seef II will be delivered to home owners in December.
The company had organized an orientation programme to inform the owners about the handover, which is being done ahead of scheduled date. The orientation programme was organized to update customers with the final documentation procedures, including facilities management contract and amenities at the tower. The orientation was held on 29th November at the Grand Hyatt hotel.
According to Chief Executive Officer of Deyaar, Markus Giebel, the delivery of Al Seef 2 emphasizes the continued commitment by Deyaar towards offering customers with best international quality and service experience and its strict adherence to stipulated time-frames.
Despite the current global challenges, Deyaar continues to focus on business growth and development of iconic communities. Al Seef II is known for its unique architecture and is positioned in one of the most renowned and much sought-after locations in Dubai, offering a world-class lifestyle, Giebel added.
Located at the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) development, Al Seef II comprises 210 double and triple bedroom apartments and penthouses with lake views. The tower is equipped with modern amenities, including a health club, ample parking space and access to a range of retail amenities.
Located adjacent to Sheikh Zayed Road between Interchange five and six, the Jumeirah Lake Towers includes several high-rise commercial and residential towers. It is located in close proximity to other signature developments such as the Palm Jumeirah, Mall of Emirates, and Emirates Golf Course, and other three major business hubs in Dubai, such as the Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City and the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
Dec 9 2009
Phase B of the Jumeirah Golf Estates community is being redesigned because the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has introduced plans for a road to run through the project, reported The National. Phase B was originally designed in 2004 and is made up of villas, cottages and medium-rise apartment buildings surrounding the Water golf course, designed by the Fijian professional golfer Vijay Singh. Leisurecorp, which is developing the $10.8bn community, is working with the RTA and UK-based Mott MacDonald, the engineering consultant hired last year to manage Phase B, to work out a plan for transport connections
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