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Middle East job site Bayt.com and market research agency YouGov have released the 'Future of Work in the MENA 2022' survey to highlight the skills that are expected to be more important in 10 years, the most significant changes driven by technology and the future of job roles and job seeking.
According to the survey, more than 7 in 10 of Lebanon respondents (74%) believe that technological factors (such as digital transformation, automation, artificial intelligence, etc.) are most likely to change the nature of work in the future. At the same time, the great majority of respondents (75%) 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.
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 Lebanon, 78% of the survey respondents believe that the demand for electrical engineers is likely to increase over the next 10 years, along with demand for software engineers (77%), business operations managers (75%) and industrial engineers (75%).
When it came to getting transferred to another job or department when the demand for a current job role decreases, 58% of the respondents believe that it should neither be easy nor difficult. Employers in the region could grow and broaden employee’s skills, not just through formal learning but by exposing them to a myriad of new jobs and roles inside the company to increase their engagement levels while stemming job hopping.
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com said: “Our latest Future of Work survey outlines expectations and approaches to recruitment in the coming years. Technology is set to play a key role in driving experiences and intelligence in the hiring process as organizational leaders chart the path toward the post-pandemic world. As the younger generation advances in the workforce, the survey stats make it clear that computer skill, creative thinking and communication will become even more prominent.”
Job Skill Requirements
Lebanon companies favor employees with both interpersonal and technical skills. Results show that while soft skills such as time management (97%), communication (95%) and teamwork (94%) are considered important today, nearly half the respondents (49%) believe that both technical and soft skills will be equally important 10 years from now. On the other hand, nearly two in five respondents (39%) believe that technical skills will become more important.
Organizations are focusing on strategically recruiting and retaining for a skilled workforce. According to respondents, technology/ computer skills (95%), creative thinking (92%) and time management (88%) will be more important in the next 10 years.
From a hiring perspective, previous job experience (87%) and cultural fit (80%) are considered as the most important factors today. Interestingly, previous job experience (77%) continues to be the top factor that will be needed much more than it is needed right now. This is followed by the degree specialization (75%) and CV presentation of the candidate (74%).
Perception of Recruiters
When it comes to attracting and retaining the right talent, a whopping 92% of Lebanon recruiters agree that online job sites and professional platforms will dominate and be the most popular recruiting tools within 10 years.
Recruiters have huge hopes for AI and technology in the hiring process, with 85% agreeing that response time to applicants is likely to improve using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
Job Seeking in the Future
With an increased need for reliable information from the frontlines of change – respondents believe that online job boards and career websites (68%) and social and professional networks (57%) will be the most reliable job seeking sources in the future. 29% of the respondents believe company websites will be reliable.
Zafar Shah, Research Director, Data Services at YouGov said: “Employers in the MENA are leveraging technology to help drive growth, better anticipate uncertainty and create a workplace that top talent is eager to join. Employers are able to step up hiring practices and be transparent with employees about how they are reimagining the future of work and making progress toward that vision.”
Data for the Future of Work in the MENA 2022 survey was collected online from May 18 to June 6, 2022. Results are based on a sample of 1,625 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, and others.
