The Bayt.com Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa Survey

Bayt.com Top Industriesin the Middle East and North Africa

December 2013

Project BackgroundSection 1

Research Objectives

§ The research was conducted to understand respondents opinion of their own industry and

various other industry sectors. Key objectives included:

§ Understanding satisfaction levels with current industry on attributes including salary and

benefits, work life balance, career growth and job security

§ Identify which industries are perceived to perform best on numerous attributes including

salary packages, working hours and work life balance

§ Recognize industry switching behavior and reasons thereof

§ Understand the perception of the government as an employer

§ Identify industries that are seen as attracting local talent and women workforce

Key findings

§ The majority of respondents are satisfied with their current/ most recent industry in terms of

their working hours, the work culture and the ability to maintain a good work-life balance.

Younger respondents are more satisfied with training and development within their industry.

Whilst more older respondents are satisfied with the salary packages and working hours.

Respondents in Syria are particularly unhappy with the salary packages in their industry.

§ Overall, it is apparent that respondents have particularly positive view of the Oil, Gas &

Petrochemicals/ Energy sector with it coming out on top in terms of the salary packages, work

life balance, opportunities for career growth and optimum job security given the current

economic climate. Furthermore, respondents believe that it is the industry which has recorded

the strongest growth in the past year.

§ The majority of respondents believe that the Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector offers

the best salary packages. More in Oman than any other country believe this to be the case.

Key findings

§ Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector and Government/ Civil service/ Utilities emerge as the

top two industries seen to be most attractive to work in when it comes to maintaining a work

life balance.

§ Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector is seen to offer the best career growth for two-fifths

of respondents, whilst just over a quarter believe that Banking/ Finance offers the best career

growth.

§ Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector also emerges in the top two industries for offering the

optimum job security in the current economic climate, along with Government/ Civil service/

Utilities.

§ For just over a quarter of respondents Military/ Defense/ Police/ Security is the most stressful

industry to work in. Significantly more respondents in Syria believe this to be the case. More

respondents in Qatar associate the Construction industry with being the most stressful.

§ About a quarter of respondents associate construction with having the longest working hours.

§ Healthcare/ Medical services/ Pharmaceuticals and Education/ Academia are seen to be the

most attractive industries for the women workforce.

Key findings

§ Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector and Government/ Civil service/ Utilities are seen to be

attracting the most local talent. Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector is seen to be

attracting local talent by more respondents in the GCC in particular the UAE.

§ Respondents believe that the Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector has recorded the

strongest growth in the past year again significantly more respondents in the GCC stated

this.

§ Most respondents view the government as a favorable employer more respondents in

Bahrain and fewer in Lebanon believe this.

§ Just over a fifth of working respondents changed their industry in the past 2 years. The top

reasons given for changing industry include better salaries in new industry, better career

growth opportunities in new industry and lack of recognition in past industry.

§ Over half of working respondents claim to be considering an industry change in the next few

years, with a fifth (of those considering moving) wanting to move to the Oil, Gas &

Petrochemicals/ Energy sector. Of those who are considering an industry change, three

quarters claim they are considering changing industries for a better salary.

Research MethodologySection 2

Sample Definition

Age and Gender:

Adult males and females

Aged 18 plus years

Nationalities:

GCC Arabs, North Africans, Levantines, Western Expats, Asians

Country of Residence

GCC: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain

Levant: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan

North Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia

Data Collection

All data was collected online. Fieldwork was done between 18 and 25 November 2013. The

total number of successful online interviews achieved was 7,370.

Research FindingsSection 3

Current/ most recent industry

Q. Which ONE of the following industries do you currently work/ did you work in most recently?

All figures are % s

Base: Currently working or employed professional looking for a job (6702)

• Overall, amongst those surveyed, Manufacturing/ Engineering, IT/Electronics/Telecommunication and Construction top the industries where respondents are or have been employed.

Current/ most recent industry

Q. Which ONE of the following industries do you currently work/ did you work in most recently?

All figures are % s

GCC Levant North Africa

KSA UAE Kuwait Qatar Bahrain Oman Lebanon Syria Jordan Egypt Morocco Algeria Tunisia

Base: Currently working/ Unemployed professional looking for a job

1447 993 278 260 62 127 211 69 412 1832 345 460 206

Manufacturing/ Engineering 13 9 11 7 16 9 10 9 10 12 9 7 12

IT/ Electronics/ Telecommunications 10 8 13 7 10 9 13 22 17 10 8 10 18

Construction 15 15 5 27 5 14 11 10 4 6 8 10 5

Banking / Finance 6 8 8 3 10 10 7 4 7 5 5 4 3

Hospitality / Entertainment/ Tourism 3 9 7 7 6 5 9 3 5 7 9 2 6

Healthcare / Medical services/ Pharmaceuticals 7 5 4 5 2 6 7 3 8 5 2 6 7

Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector 5 7 9 8 3 12 0 7 2 5 3 13 6

Education / Academia 5 4 3 7 8 4 2 9 10 6 5 11 8

Retail 6 6 8 2 - 7 7 - 4 6 2 2 1Advertising/ media/ PR/

market research / publishing

3 4 3 3 10 2 9 12 4 5 3 4 4

Human Resources 4 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 4 2 1 4 4Government / Civil service/

Utilities 2 1 1 2 5 3 1 4 3 3 1 7 2

Automotive 2 3 4 1 3 6 0 3 1 3 5 2 3

Transportation 1 2 2 2 2 - 1 3 1 1 6 2 1

Industries seeking employment in

Q. Which of the following industries are you seeking employment in?

All figures are % s

Base: Unemployed professional looking for a job (458)

• For those seeking employment, industries of choice include IT/Electronics/Telecommunications followed by Hospitality/Entertainment/Tourism.

• Sectors like transportation, retail, HR and education are not amongst the most popular.

Satisfaction with current/ most recent industry

Q. Now thinking about the industry that you currently work in/ worked in most recently, please indicate your level of satisfaction with the following attributes:

All figures are % s

Base: Currently working or unemployed professional looking for a job (6702)

• Satisfaction levels are high with respect to working hours and work culture as well as work life balance for 50% or more.

• Less than 50% are satisfied with the level of job security they have.

• The satisfaction levels are lowest for career growth, training and development.

• Albeit a 2% difference slightly more (44%) are dissatisfied with their salary package in comparison to those satisfied (42%)

Satisfaction with current/ most recent industry


All figures are % s

Base: Currently working or unemployed professional looking for a job; 18-29y (2789), 30-39y (2486), 40+ y(1427)

• More respondents aged 40+ are satisfied with salary packages (49%) and working hours (65%).

• More amongst the older age groups of 30 + are dissatisfied with their career growth.

• More among the 18-29 year respondents are dissatisfied with their salary package (also expressed by the 30-39 age group) however the young respondents exhibit greater satisfaction with the present level of training and development due to their youth possibly being provided these benefits in comparison to the older employees.

18-29 30-39 40+

Satisfaction with Salary Packages

All figures are % s



Base: Working/experienced professional 1447 993 278 260 62 127 211 69 412 1832 345 460 206

Salary packages (inclusive of non-monetary benefits)

Completely Dissatisfied 18 19 20 20 18 28 16 49 24 20 30 36 30

Somewhat Dissatisfied 22 20 21 22 18 13 27 9 23 23 24 22 24Neither dissatisfied nor

satisfied 15 18 18 15 19 19 23 14 12 11 11 13 15

Somewhat Satisfied 37 33 31 34 34 35 28 22 33 38 30 23 27

Completely Satisfied 9 11 10 10 11 6 6 6 8 8 5 7 5

• Overall 39% are satisfied with salary packages in comparison to those dissatisfied at 46%.

• In the GCC, those satisfied are more in KSA, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain. Results are split between those satisfied and dissatisfied for Oman and Kuwait.

• In the Levant those dissatisfied are driven by Syria respondents and in the N. African region its only Egypt where a marginally higher percentage exhibit satisfaction (46%) than dissatisfaction (43%) whereas the other countries exhibit significantly higher level of dissatisfaction with their salary packages.


Satisfaction with Work-life Balance, Career Growth

All figures are % s




Maintaining work–life balance



satisfied 17 21 18 19 8 12 24 13 16 14 11 17 13



Career growth



satisfied 19 18 17 18 24 24 18 16 20 16 13 16 17




• Overall across the region, on average 51% are satisfied with the wok life balance with Bahrain showing above average 71% satisfaction. Oman and Qatar also exhibit more than average satisfaction in the GCC and in Egypt and Morocco too the results are similar. Those exhibiting dissatisfaction at an overall level is limited to 34%.

• Dissatisfaction with career growth is seen across all countries surveyed, averaging 44% and @ 38% being satisfied.

Satisfaction with Job Security, Working Hours

All figures are % s


KSA UAE Kuwait Qatar Bahrain Oman Lebanon Syria Jordan Egypt Morocco Algeria TunisiaBase: Working/experienced

professional 1447 993 278 260 62 127 211 69 412 1832 345 460 206

Job security



satisfied 16 22 14 20 24 21 18 14 15 15 15 13 14



Working hours



satisfied 12 16 16 14 16 13 13 10 12 11 14 15 14




• Overall across the region, on average 47% are satisfied with their job security whereas about one in three are not. Satisfaction levels are higher than regional average in Kuwait, Algeria and Tunisia..

• When it comes to working hours, across the region fewer appear to be complaining with only 27% being dissatisfied with their working hours.

Satisfaction with Work Culture, Training & Development

All figures are % s




Work culture



satisfied 18 19 13 14 19 17 17 16 17 15 10 12 16



Training and development



satisfied 16 18 21 18 19 16 20 14 16 14 10 14 14




• Over 50% of those working are satisfied with the work culture offered by their respective organizations. Of all the countries surveyed only employees in KSA exhibit a lower satisfaction score of 48%.

• Across the countries, satisfaction scores are split when it comes to fulfilling training and development needs of employees with 42% dissatisfied and 41% satisfied with T&D provided. In KSA only 34% claim being satisfied, whereas in Morocco it is the highest at 55%

Best salary packages

All figures are % s

Q. In your opinion, which industries offer the best salary packages (inclusive of non-monetary benefits) in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• A majority (54%) of respondents opine that the Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy industry offers the best salary packages (inclusive of non-monetary benefits) in their country of residence. This perception is driven more by the O&G based economies of the GCC, especially Oman (725). Fewer in the Levant region (23%) than those in GCC (57%) and North Africa (58%) believe Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy industry offers the best salary packages.

• Over a quarter (27%) believe that the Banking/ Finance industry in their country of residence offers the best salary packages.

• More respondents in Egypt (22%) believe that Advertising/ Media/ PR/ Market research/ Publishing is the industry offering the best salary packages.

• Interestingly in the UAE after O&G (56%) and Government (30%), the banking (24%) and airline (24%) industries are perceived to be good pay masters.

Base: All (7370)

Best salary packages

All figures are % s

Q. In your opinion, which industries offer the best salary packages (inclusive of non-monetary benefits) in your country of residence? (Select top 3)



Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258

Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy

sector54 56 65 66 43 72 17 41 23 64 21 75 43

Banking / Finance 29 24 29 18 43 29 26 29 29 32 19 14 32Airline 18 24 13 17 22 15 13 13 28 27 25 22 28


Military/ Defense/Police/ Security services 6 10 11 15 12 5 6 12 7 20 9 37 5

Government / Civil service/ Utilities 14 30 18 30 22 19 8 4 5 4 12 7 6

Advertising/ media/ PR/ market research /

publishing8 9 6 6 10 5 24 9 9 22 13 4 10


Real Estate 9 8 6 6 4 5 23 13 17 9 19 12 9Construction 15 11 6 17 13 8 21 16 9 6 10 9 8



Management Consulting 7 7 6 7 10 5 16 5 8 3 5 2 3Education / Academia 5 3 4 7 3 4 2 8 5 2 10 14 9

Work-life balance

All figures are % s

Q. Which industries are the most attractive to work in when it comes to maintaining a work life balance in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• Government/ Civil service/ Utilities and Oil and Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector are seen to be the most attractive to work in when it comes to maintaining a work life balance. More in Kuwait (47%), Oman (47%), Qatar (42%) and Algeria (42%) claim that work-life balance offered by the Gas &Petrochemicals/ Energy sector is most attractive.

• Fewer in Tunisia (15%) and Syria (19%) state that Government/ Civil service/ Utilities offers a good work life balance. On the other hand, more in Qatar (45%), Bahrain (43%) and UAE (43%) believe this to be the case.

• More of the older respondents (35% of those 40+) than those 30-39 (33%) or 18-29 (27%) of the opinion that the Gas &Petrochemicals/ Energy sector is attractive in terms of it s work life balance.

• In Lebanon 42% opine that their Banking/ Finance sector is most attractive in this matter.

Base: All (7370)

Work-life balance

All figures are % s

Q. Which industries are the most attractive to work in when it comes to maintaining a work life balance in your country of residence? (Select top 3)



Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258



sector29 33 47 42 31 47 8 13 10 37 10 42 17

Banking / Finance 26 24 33 23 31 23 42 27 31 28 18 14 26Education / Academia 22 17 13 20 19 15 27 25 34 14 26 34 36


Airline 12 17 13 11 13 9 6 4 9 13 9 9 12Military/ Defense/Police/

Security services 7 8 10 8 15 14 10 9 14 13 10 23 7


publishing7 9 6 6 9 10 22 11 8 15 7 8 9


Healthcare / Medical services/

Pharmaceuticals12 8 6 8 6 10 10 13 9 6 7 13 19

Real Estate 9 6 8 5 4 5 13 15 9 9 14 8 7Human Resources 9 10 6 8 9 9 10 8 9 10 6 5 3

Construction 11 8 5 11 9 5 12 17 5 6 13 8 5Management Consulting 10 8 7 9 10 9 11 12 8 7 8 6 6


Best career growth

All figures are % sQ. Which industries offer the best career growth in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals/ Energy sector is claimed to offer the best career growth for two-fifths of respondents. More respondents in Oman (59%), Algeria (56%), Kuwait (55%) and Qatar (51%) believe that the Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals/ Energy sector offers the best career growth.

• Just over a quarter believe that Banking/ Finance offers the best career growth. More in Bahrain and Lebanon (40%) share this view.

• In Syria it is the IT/ Electronics/ Telecommunications sector that is seen to offer the best career growth by 43% of those surveyed.

Base: All (7370)

Best career growth

All figures are % sQ. Which industries offer the best career growth in your country of residence? (Select top 3)



Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258


sector45 44 55 51 34 59 10 21 11 45 12 56 23

Banking / Finance 28 26 28 22 40 29 40 24 30 30 22 14 23IT/ Electronics/

Telecommunications 23 17 23 14 31 21 25 43 33 27 30 20 33




Airline 13 19 9 15 13 6 4 4 14 14 12 11 12Advertising/ media/ PR/

market research / publishing

9 13 12 6 7 8 24 9 11 17 12 6 12

Construction 15 12 9 21 13 10 21 17 7 6 15 10 6

Education / Academia 8 4 7 13 4 6 4 12 13 7 15 21 13Hospitality /

Entertainment/ Tourism 6 11 8 10 9 12 17 9 9 9 16 5 10

Real Estate 8 9 7 7 6 4 12 9 9 8 15 10 11Healthcare / Medical

services/ Pharmaceuticals

13 9 12 7 7 8 11 16 13 4 5 8 9

Human Resources 7 7 6 6 4 3 9 4 11 9 5 5 4Management Consulting 9 10 6 9 12 4 17 4 9 4 7 4 3

Optimum job security

All figures are % s

Q. Which industries offer the optimum job security in the current economic scenario in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector and Government/ Civil service/ Utilities emerge as the top two industries when it comes to offering the optimum job security in the current economic scenario.

• Significantly fewer in the Levant region (10%) than the GCC (42%) or North Africa (42%) believe that the Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector offers the optimum job security.

• On the other hand, more in the Levant region (45%) and the GCC (42%) believe that the Government/ Civil service/ Utilities industry offers the optimum job security, compared with just over a third (34%) in North Africa.

Base: All (7370)

Optimum job security

All figures are % s

Q. Which industries offer the optimum job security in the current economic scenario in your country of residence? (Select top 3)



Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258



sector39 40 54 51 40 44 7 12 11 46 12 60 20


Banking / Finance 18 16 21 17 18 20 47 17 19 23 17 10 22

Education / Academia 17 11 8 15 18 14 13 21 20 8 26 25 24IT/ Electronics/

Telecommunications 11 10 13 6 16 11 12 16 15 14 15 15 16

Airline 12 19 12 14 10 13 8 4 8 11 12 9 10Healthcare / Medical

services/ Pharmaceuticals

15 14 10 13 12 11 17 11 18 7 11 9 15



publishing5 6 6 5 4 8 11 4 5 11 11 5 6

Construction 12 7 6 14 7 5 7 4 4 3 8 7 4Real Estate 8 5 6 5 3 5 7 12 5 5 9 9 7


Most stressful industries

All figures are % s

Q. In your country of residence, which of the following industries are the most stressful to work in? (Select top 3)

• For over a quarter (26%) of respondents, Military/ Defence/ Police/ Security services is the most stressful industry to work in. This is particularly true of those in North Africa (37%), compared with 28% in Levant and 14% in the GCC. Those in Syria (57%) and Tunisia (46%) are the most likely to believe that Military/ Defence/ Police/ Security is the most stressful industry.

• Over a quarter (29%) in the GCC believe that Construction is most stressful, compared with 13% in North Africa and 12% in Levant. Significantly more in Qatar (41%) claim the Construction industry is most stressful.

Base: All (7370)

Most stressful industries

All figures are % s

Q. In your country of residence, which of the following industries are the most stressful to work in? (Select top 3)



Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258


Construction 28 30 18 41 22 28 17 7 10 12 19 12 10Banking / Finance 19 23 19 16 30 23 18 9 23 20 16 15 14


Advertising/ media/ PR/ market research / publishing 12 16 14 10 15 14 22 19 17 18 13 9 19

Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector 18 16 21 19 19 24 7 16 11 14 5 18 7

Transportation 11 11 7 12 16 9 17 12 14 17 19 18 19Manufacturing/ Engineering 17 12 12 14 13 13 11 7 15 14 9 7 10


Law 8 6 11 7 12 11 18 12 16 12 13 17 17Retail 13 13 12 10 13 14 11 7 11 12 4 6 5


Real Estate 9 14 7 10 12 11 7 5 7 10 9 7 4Airline 9 10 10 10 13 10 3 1 11 10 7 6 4

Education / Academia 6 6 5 7 10 4 12 7 13 6 14 22 16Government / Civil service/

Utilities 6 6 6 5 4 3 12 21 6 7 12 20 14Management Consulting 7 6 6 7 7 7 9 1 5 4 9 6 7

Automotive 6 5 10 7 - 11 4 8 7 5 5 2 2Agriculture 4 4 4 6 3 5 5 11 6 5 6 5 7

Longest working hours

All figures are % s

Q. Which of the following industries have the longest working hours in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• About one in four respondents associate the construction industry with having the longest working hours in their country of residence. More of those aged 40+ (33%) than those 30-39 (26%) or 18-29 (23%) believe that the construction industry has the longest working hours.

• On the other hand, more of those aged 18-29 (26%) than those 30-39 (20%) or 40+ (17%) claim that Military/ Defence/ Police/ Security has the longest working hours. More in North Africa (34%) and Levant (21%) than the GCC (10%) share this opinion..

• More respondents in the GCC (33%) than Levant (22%) or North Africa (20%) believe that the construction industry has the longest working hours particularly so in Qatar (49%).

• In Lebanon the Hospitality/ Entertainment/ Tourism sector is said to have the longest working hours by 36% respondents followed by the medical services (33%).

Base: All (7370)

Longest working hours

All figures are % s

Q. Which of the following industries have the longest working hours in your country of residence? (Select top 3)



Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258

Construction 33 32 24 49 25 32 24 20 22 18 28 19 22Military/ Defense/Police/

Security services 10 9 10 7 33 8 15 40 21 31 33 43 40


Pharmaceuticals22 16 14 14 13 14 33 23 23 15 17 24 21


sector22 14 22 14 19 29 5 16 7 19 8 38 13



Transportation 13 14 14 18 18 12 17 19 24 15 27 18 15Retail 19 18 20 17 16 17 12 12 15 15 5 9 6


publishing10 15 12 13 9 15 21 13 16 19 16 12 21


Airline 10 13 9 9 15 8 5 16 16 11 11 12 5Banking / Finance 13 13 11 10 10 10 12 11 9 11 3 6 5

Agriculture 5 3 6 4 4 5 3 5 9 10 22 13 21Real Estate 7 8 8 6 6 5 1 3 2 5 4 3 0

Industries most attractive to women

All figures are % s

Q. Which industries are attractive to the WOMEN workforce in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• Healthcare/ Medical services/ Pharmaceuticals and Education/ Academia emerge as the top two favourable industries for the women workforce.

• Education is seen to be the most attractive for women for more respondents in the Levant region (47%) and the GCC (41%) than those in North Africa (33%).

• Advertising/ Media/ PR/ Market research/ Publishing is also seen to be attractive by more respondents in North Africa (35%) and Levant (32%) than the GCC (21%).

• More in the Levant region (39%) and GCC (31%) than those in North Africa (19%) opine that the Banking/ Finance industry is attractive to women.

Base: All (7370)

Industries most attractive to women

All figures are % s

Airline GCC Levant North Africa


Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258


Pharmaceuticals 51 28 37 37 43 32 24 44 43 33 36 53 45

Education / Academia 48 32 34 38 51 36 45 43 48 25 28 61 40Advertising/ media/ PR/

market research / publishing 23 22 23 16 19 10 43 36 27 41 24 26 22

Banking / Finance 26 34 35 33 39 50 49 33 35 18 25 17 18Hospitality /

Entertainment/ Tourism 15 27 21 24 25 17 29 17 18 30 43 13 26Government / Civil

service/ Utilities 17 26 28 33 34 42 7 24 22 25 13 34 16Human Resources 11 19 13 12 15 11 17 7 16 13 5 8 6


Charity / voluntary sector 9 5 5 4 - 3 7 9 7 12 9 2 4

Retail 12 8 8 6 3 5 9 1 2 4 2 1 2

Q. Which industries are attractive to the WOMEN workforce in your country of residence?(Select top 3)

Industries attracting local talent

All figures are % s

Q. Which industries attract highest proportion of LOCAL talent in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy, Government/ Civil service/ Utilities and Military/ Defence/ Police/ Security services emerge as the top three industries in terms of attracting the highest proportion of local talent.

• Fewer respondents in Levant region (7%) believe that the Oil, Gas is attracting the highest proportion of local talent, compared to 33% in the GCC and 27% in North Africa.

• Significantly more in the GCC (41%) than the Levant region (17%) or North Africa (13%) believe that the Government/ Civil service/ Utilities is attracting the most local talent. This is particularly true of respondents in the UAE (55%).

Base: All (7370)

Industries attracting local talent

All figures are % s

Airline GCC Levant North Africa


Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258


sector 31 29 46 46 28 32 4 13 7 29 5 44 10Government / Civil

service/ Utilities 33 55 34 47 37 41 13 19 19 11 17 13 16Military/ Defense/Police/

Security services 24 35 26 28 31 26 17 12 24 16 21 35 19IT/ Electronics/

Telecommunications 16 8 17 6 15 16 28 45 36 33 29 23 33Banking / Finance 28 27 28 21 39 32 37 25 22 18 15 8 16


publishing 10 9 11 4 10 10 35 21 15 27 15 12 14Manufacturing/

Engineering 11 5 10 6 16 8 16 15 20 16 17 10 17Education / Academia 14 7 6 9 12 9 8 15 16 8 20 23 18

Airline 14 16 9 10 10 7 2 4 7 9 12 6 10Healthcare / Medical

services/ Pharmaceuticals 12 6 9 10 10 8 16 13 18 7 10 13 16

Construction 9 6 9 13 6 7 18 9 7 10 15 12 13Hospitality /

Entertainment/ Tourism 4 7 7 5 7 10 20 5 7 12 17 4 17Human Resources 11 8 3 4 4 9 6 4 5 7 4 4 3

Real Estate 8 6 4 8 3 8 11 8 4 8 8 8 5Retail 4 3 7 3 4 2 9 5 5 8 4 5 9

Automotive 5 2 5 1 1 5 4 4 7 5 11 6 5

Q. Which industries attract highest proportion of LOCAL talent in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

Industries with strongest growth

All figures are % s

Q. In your opinion, which industries have recorded the strongest growth in the past year in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

• Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ energy sector comes out on top in terms of its perceived recorded growth, followed by IT/ Electronics/ Telecommunications.

• 39% in the GCC believe that the Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ energy sector has recorded the strongest growth in the past year, compared with 22% in North Africa and 5% in the Levant region.

• The construction sector is claimed to recorded the strongest growth by 21% in the GCC, 17% in the Levant and 12% in N. Africa.

• More in the Levant (26%) and the GCC (21%) than those in North Africa (9%) claim that the Banking/ Finance industry has grown the most over the past year. More in Lebanon (42%) claim this.

Base: All (7370)

Strongest growth

All figures are % s



Base: All 1537 1018 284 270 67 133 218 75 454 2046 441 569 258


sector40 34 50 49 37 38 5 7 6 21 6 42 9


Real Estate 16 22 14 17 10 14 23 12 15 14 21 12 8

Construction 22 16 15 39 13 18 27 5 14 11 15 14 11

Banking / Finance 20 21 27 17 30 26 42 15 20 10 9 6 9


publishing7 8 10 4 9 5 24 16 11 19 9 8 14


Q. In your opinion, which industries have recorded the strongest growth in the past year in your country of residence? (Select top 3)

Government as an employer

Q. How favorable is the government as an employer of choice in your country of residence?

All figures are % s

• A majority (62%) of respondents view the government as a favourable employer, with almost two fifths (38%) stating that the government is an extremely favourable employer.

• Three-quarters (75%) of those in Bahrain believe that the government is a favourable employer, whilst only 40% in Lebanon agree.

Base: All (7370)

Government as an employer

Q. How favorable is the government as an employer of choice in your country of residence?

All figures are % s

Base: All

1537

1018

284

270

67

133

218

75

454

2046

441

569

258

Industry change

All figures are % sQ. Have you changed your industry in the last 24 months?



Base: Working 1402 936 271 242 59 122 195 62 376 1719 257 423 180

Yes, I have changed my

industry in the last 24 months

25 19 23 24 27 17 22 15 23 23 28 19 28

No, I have not changed 75 81 77 76 73 83 78 85 77 77 72 81 72

• 23% of working respondents have changed their industry in the last 24 months.

• Interestingly, 28% of those aged 18-29 have changed their industry, compared with 20% of those 30-39 and 16% of those 40+.

Reasons for having changed industry

All figures are % s

Q. Why did you change your industry? (Please select all that apply)

• Better salaries and better opportunities for career growth are the top two reasons given for changing industries.

• More of those aged 40+ claim to have changed because their industry is laying off people.

• On the other hand, more of the younger age group specify better career growth, better salaries, lack of recognition and to fulfil their life s ambition of working in a particular job as reasons for their change in industry.

Base: Working and have changed industry (1415)

18-29 30-39 40+

733 472 21047 43 36

41 38 25

30 31 22

26 25 13

24 20 17

23 20 1917 16 1212 17 2014 15 8

8 12 6

7 8 5

8 9 4

6 7 7

2 6 8

Considering industry change

All figures are % s

Q. Are you considering an industry change in the next few years?

• Half of working respondents (52%) claim to be considering an industry change in the next few years, whilst a further 31% are not sure. Only 17% claim not to be considering an industry change.



Base: Working 1402 936 271 242 59 122 195 62 376 1719 257 423 180

Yes 55 57 55 48 56 53 45 45 51 46 55 60 55

No 17 16 15 24 24 14 18 19 17 17 9 14 16

Not sure 28 27 29 28 20 33 37 35 32 36 35 26 29

Industry considering moving to

All figures are % s

Q. Which industry are you considering moving to?

• A fifth of respondents are considering moving to the Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals/ Energy sector. This is driven more by the residents of the GCC states, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman in particular.

Base: Working and considering industry change (3260)

Industry change

All figures are % s

Q. Which industry are you considering moving to?



Base: Working and considering industry

change765 529 150 117 33 65 88 28 193 797 142 254 99


sector20 22 30 30 9 25 6 14 7 23 10 27 15


Banking / Finance 7 9 9 9 12 8 8 11 7 7 7 5 9

Government / Civil service/ Utilities 6 12 6 6 6 11 9 - 5 5 5 4 4

Management Consulting 8 5 5 9 9 6 10 7 7 4 4 5 4


Education / Academia 3 2 5 1 3 3 2 4 16 4 3 11 9


publishing4 3 3 2 6 - 15 4 3 5 3 3 1

Airline 2 8 6 4 12 2 2 4 3 3 4 2 2

Human Resources 5 4 3 4 - 8 3 11 7 4 4 5 3

Hospitality / Entertainment/

Tourism2 5 3 - 6 2 3 - 3 3 7 3 10

Reasons for considering industry change

All figures are % s

Q. Why are you considering an industry change? (Select top three reasons)

• Better salary emerges as the top reason for industry change. Career growth and better benefits are the next two most cited reasons.

• Interestingly, across the countries, those dissatisfied with their salary packages and career growth were more in comparison to those satisfied.

Base: Working and considering industry change (3260)

Reasons for industry change

All figures are % s



Base: Working and considering industry change

765 529 150 117 33 65 88 28 193 797 142 254 99

Better salary 75 71 78 74 70 69 74 71 74 77 77 78 69

Career growth 47 56 55 50 73 48 47 43 44 43 32 32 39

Better benefits 30 40 39 43 33 26 38 25 27 28 25 26 24

Better work-life balance 21 22 16 15 21 22 23 29 20 28 30 38 34

Job security 24 19 19 23 18 18 17 7 17 23 23 13 15

Better work culture 17 13 14 10 18 17 13 21 15 17 18 28 19

Better bonuses 14 8 10 10 6 17 11 18 18 12 20 24 16

Too much stress in current industry 12 9 14 10 3 5 17 14 15 15 11 11 13

Shorter working hours 9 10 12 9 3 11 14 4 12 8 11 7 8

More flexible working hours 7 8 4 8 15 14 8 7 13 10 10 9 9

More opportunities in

another industry in my country of

residence

10 6 7 12 6 14 8 18 7 9 8 8 10

Q. Why are you considering an industry change? (Select top three reasons)

DemographicsSection 4

Demographics

A total sample of 7370 respondents was achieved

Age•18-29 –46 %•30-39 – 35%•40+ – 19%

Marital Status•Single – %•Married – %•Separated/ divorced – %

Region•GCC – 45%•Levant – 10%•North Africa – 45%

All figures are % s

Base: Total (7370)

Demographics

Unemployed: 1126

Experienced professional looking

for a job – 41%

Fresh college/school graduate looking for a job

– 59%

• The majority of respondents are currently working full time (30 or more hours per week).

All figures are % s

Base: Total (7370)

Demographics

All figures are %’s

Base: Currently working or unemployed experienced professional looking for a job (6702)

Years of experience:

Less than a year 51 – 2 years 103 – 4 years 155 – 6 years 147 – 8 years 12

9 – 10 years 911 or more years 35

Thank you

The Bayt.com Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa Survey

Career

Transcript of The Bayt.com Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa Survey