Work-life balance is the top career goal for students in the UAE, showed a recent study that involved more than 5,000 students.
Nearly 54 per cent of Emirati students valued work-life balance, compared to 49 per cent from both Lebanon and Egypt, and 48 per cent from Saudi Arabia.
Students from the region were looking for an employer that offered a friendly and inclusive work environment, and respected and embraced their differences, the study revealed.
“What they are looking for is a friendly work environment or being in a place where they don’t have to put a mask and they can bring their personality,” said Claudia Tattanelli, the chairman of the strategic board at Universum, a global employer brand research firm.
“For them it’s not about how many hours they work. They work in a place where they are comfortable. They can even work more than the previous generation. They are really eager to be in an environment where it is almost seamless.”
Emirati students’ second career goal was to be “entrepreneurial, creative and innovative” with 47 per cent seeking this goal in employers, as opposed to 45 per cent, 36 per cent and 44 per cent of their Egyptian, Lebanese and Saudi Arabian counterparts respectively.
“What we see being competition to companies is actually start-ups. It’s not just other companies,” said Ms Tattanelli.
UAE nationals also prioritised becoming leaders or managers of people and being competitively or intellectually challenged, compared to non-UAE nationals, who were looking for international career and job security.
Focus on Emiratisation in the private sector has sharpened since Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in January laid down the gauntlet for private-sector companies to raise their employment of Emiratis. Announcing the national agenda for the next seven years, Sheikh Mohammed said the Government intended to double the target for the number of nationals employed in the private sector and said new measures would be imposed to raise Emiratisation numbers.
However, Emiratis occupy less than 2 per cent of the 2.2 million jobs in the private sector, according to research from TCO Management Consulting. Nationals have traditionally shunned the private sector in favour of the perceived security and flexibility offered by government roles.
The study from Universum also added that Emirati students showed the most tendency to stay with their first employer, with 57 per cent showing interest in staying five years, compared to 53 per cent of their counterparts in Saudi Arabia and 42 per cent of their peers in the UK.
“If we look at what companies are doing to attract this group, there are incredible trainee and leadership programmes that they are brought in to do. It is usually three to six years of training and development,” said Ms Tattanelli “If they do find what they want, they plan on staying a longer time and growing in a company—more so than a non-national, who has a short-term view on their first employment.”
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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