Health sector does not hurt a bit

The healthcare industry has been immune to the slowdown bug just when most sectors have been afflicted by it.

Demand for healthcare professionals has remained robust despite the economic slowdown and a troubled job market. The vigour in healthcare industries stems from regulatory changes that have increased access to insurance, and because the sector is largely immune to economic cycles. Poonam Data, the chief executive of International Management Consultants, an executive search and human resources advisory firm based in Dubai, said her company's recruitment for pharmaceutical companies had increased by between 20 and 25 per cent from last year. "A couple of industries are doing well and the pharmaceutical industry is one of them," Ms Datta says. "That's because firstly a number of new brands have set up or are expanding operations here recently, and also because this is an industry that is not affected as much by economic downturns or recessions." Residents of the Emirates have travelled to other countries for even simple medical procedures, but Ms Datta says that has become less common because of expanded services and improvement in their quality. Expansions have generally been across all industries. AstraZeneca, a British pharmaceutical company that opened an office in Dubai three years ago, increased its staffing this year. "We think we have business opportunities still in the MENA region, especially with the mandatory healthcare insurance growing and more people having access to proper health care," an AstraZeneca official says. "We are also expanding our supporting function such as finance and marketing, which may have been understaffed." New hospitals and clinics are emerging on the market and existing organisations are expanding their services. Emaar Healthcare has formed a partnership with Methodist International, a division of Methodist Hospital in Houston, to open a medical centre in the Burj Dubai, and clinics in Arabian Ranches and The Meadows this year. Its Downtown Burj Dubai Medical Centre, which will open this year, will offer primary patient care as well as diagnostic imaging and on-site laboratory facilities. Those expansions have led to a large number of job openings in healthcare companies. Job-hunting websites in the Gulf and abroad list scores of openings for doctors, nurses and healthcare technicians. Some days as many as 100 new positions are listed on these websites. The demand for professionals ranges from plastic surgeons and sonographers to geriatrics consultants and medical device sales representatives. Insurance companies, too, are busy hiring because of expanded health coverage requirements. By the end of the year, Daman, an Abu Dhabi health insurance company, will increase its workforce by more than 350 employees, a rise of more than 30 per cent from last year. The hiring by Daman and other insurance companies is driven by laws in the country's two largest emirates that made it obligatory for employers to provide health coverage for all. Dubai adopted the law last year, adding more than a million policy holders to the rolls. Abu Dhabi adopted its universal coverage policy three years ago and set up Daman to provide insurance policy to employers. Daman, which has insured more than 1.5 million expatriates in Abu Dhabi, is also expanding to include clients outside its own turf as it markets to high-end consumers in other emirates, particularly in Dubai. Green Crescent was also founded in response to Abu Dhabi's law and seeks also to provide high-end policy coverage. Green Crescent said last month it would increase its workforce, but declined to disclose details. Although the hiring demand is mostly for skilled healthcare professionals, expansion plans in the healthcare sector is leading to hiring in other fields as well. "Naturally, in a company that is a recent set-up or expanding, there would be needs for other technical professionals such as administrators, sales and marketing, financial and human resources," Ms Datta says. [e-mail]