By Gureni Lukwaro, Staff ReporterPublished: June 26, 2008, 00:03
Dubai: The UAE is in the top ten preferred destinations for workers worldwide, according to the recent Relocating For Work survey released on Tuesday by Manpower Middle East, part of Manpower, a global employment services firm.
The survey, part of a worldwide research paper carried out by Manpower, asked 31,574 people in 27 countries about their preferred work destination, and the UAE ranked sixth.
Among workers already based in the Middle East, the UAE was the top destination, with Qatar coming fifth, Saudi Arabia eighth and Bahrain ninth.
"The results of this survey are great news for the region," said Varina Nissen, managing director of Manpower Middle East, which has operations in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
"It means that people across the world are actively seeking employment in the Middle East, which drives the quality of talent up, providing employers with more choice of top quality candidates.
"With the level of growth in the region, the demand for workers is at an all-time high. As the region continues to develop and build a reputation as a preferred destination, we are likely to see more and more people wanting to move to the Middle East for career advancement," Nissen added.
The second wave of the Zurich Wealth Monitor, a research probe into the attitudes and future financial plans of Zurich's core customer groups, questioned 700 expatriate professionals living in the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar in April. The research revealed on average that 49 per cent of expatriates living in the region felt their employer offers adequate employee benefits.
An official from Xpert HR Consultancy said the region offers best opportunities for workers with several multinational corporations, but still faces challenges like low salaries, poor housing conditions and difficult visa situations.
Perks: Pension schemes emerge
Another report from Zurich International Life (Zurich) revealed that pensions are becoming an increasingly important feature of an employee's benefits package for expatriates living in the Gulf region. With 21 per cent of firms in the UAE and Bahrain and 13 per cent in Qatar already including pensions as part of their overall package to employees, the pension penny is beginning to drop. "Attracting and retaining employees is a major challenge for companies around the world, not least in terms of cost. But in the Middle East, a market where finding and retaining staff is increasingly difficult and employees are looking to secure their future, offering pensions is now a vital component of the employment offer. Not only are pensions a very attractive benefit from the employee's perspective, they can also prove appealing for employers in terms of helping to retain staff," said Paul Haran, Zurich's Middle East Regional Director.
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