Online freelance seen as tool to fight Middle East youth unemployment

Some of those unemployed find the easiest way to obtain work is through online freelancing as the market grows.

One of the most prominent freelance job websites in the region is Nabbesh, co-founded by Loulou Khazen Baz, which has amassed 40,000 members, most of them under the age of 35. Further growth is expectShow more

At one in four, the Middle East’s rate of youth unemployment is the highest in the world. A lack of economic stimulation due to wars and protests has prevented the galvanisation of the region’s job market.

Now, some of those unemployed are turning to the world of freelance to put their skills and university education to use – and they are finding that the easiest way to secure some of this work is online.

The global e-freelancing market was estimated to be worth US$1.5 billion last year. By 2020, according to industry players, the market should be worth $10bn to $20bn, with a conservative estimate of the Middle East’s share being $100m. According to research from the McKinsey Global Institute, 160 million jobs can be carried out remotely, which is about 11 per cent of the world’s 1.46 billion service jobs.

“Just like e-commerce reinvented how people shop, online staffing is disrupting how companies hire,” says Rich Pearson, the vice-president of Elance oDesk (EO), the California-based company that is one of the largest players in the online skills marketplace.

There are two primary reasons for this growth, one coming from the hirers and one from the hired.

“Businesses are looking for more flexibility to scale their growth, and freelancers are a great resource to help companies cost-effectively grow smart … The latest generation of college students are no longer focused on joining one company for decades, instead they want to build their skills, improve their employability and earn more money,” says Mr Pearson.

The Mena region is one of the fastest growing regions for e-freelance. The UAE ranks as the fifth highest country for businesses hiring on EO, behind the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

“With this growth rate, it’s easy to see why others are entering – we expect this to continue,” says Mr Pearson.

One of the most prominent freelance job websites in the region is Nabbesh, co-founded by Loulou Khazen Baz, which has amassed 40,000 members, most of them under the age of 35. Further growth is expected to come from the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. So far Nabbesh says it has facilitated nearly 5,000 freelance job opportunities.

To make payments easy, employers can pay their hires through the website.“We estimate that there are approximately 20 million people who could benefit from freelance or online work, particularly among the unemployed as well as university graduates who are not participating in the labour force, most notably the region’s women,” says Ms Khazen Baz.

The five most sought skills on Nabbesh are: graphic design, web design, web development, content writing and social media.

“Nabbesh appeals to an audience that perhaps couldn’t or didn’t want to work within the traditional 9-to-5 work structure. All you need in most cases is access to a computer and the Internet. Work is no longer a place you have to commute to. Now work can be done with a click of the mouse from virtually anywhere,” says Ms Khazen Baz.

It is this freedom that is attracting some of the unemployed to Nabbesh.

Lina Bizreh, an independent graphic designer and stay-at-home mother in Dubai, has been using Nabbesh to find freelance work.

“Raising a child is already a full-time job … but I always wanted to keep doing what I liked. Signing up on Nabbesh helped me find work opportunities while staying at home and working my own time,” says Ms Bizreh. “I have the freedom to choose and be flexible. I get notified of all the jobs I am interested in and I am qualified for, and I get to choose the ones that suit me.”

For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), the online freelance market is a place to find skilled labour without the hassle of hiring full-time staff.

“Entrepreneurs have endless numbers of requirements and limited resources and money. Hiring freelancers to do certain tasks and projects will save them a lot of hassle,” says Osama Romoh, the managing director of Digital Lab, a marketing consultancy and training company based in Dubai. “For me, hiring freelancers on Nabbesh has increased my productivity and saved me money without having to partner with someone or hire full-timers.”

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