Students prefer jobs in public sector



DUBAI // As Sultan Ali browsed among the stalls during yesterday's careers fair at Dubai Men's College, he was thinking along the same lines as most of the other 2,000 Emirati students expected to visit. Whatever the merits of working for a private company, he wanted a job in the public sector.

"I prefer the government sector," said Mr Ali, who is studying applied business technology. "I feel more comfortable psychologically. They give you Friday and Saturday off, they give you good wages, pay for your rent and health insurance." To many young Emiratis, public sector jobs remain the most attractive because they offer more security, shorter working hours and longer holidays. "In the private sector, you work more, your salary is small and you have a lot of pressure on you," Mr Ali said. "In the public sector, you get holidays as you want."

It appears that most of his contemporaries have the same attitude. A recent government study found that while 96 per cent of students at the women's higher colleges of technology intended to work upon graduation, only 11 per cent wanted private sector jobs. Yesterday's fair was set up for Emirati students to meet both public and private sector employers. Among them were representatives of the police, the municipality, banks, Topaz Energy and Marine, Arabian Radio Network, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, du and Etisalat. Job security was high on the students' agenda.

"When the financial crisis hit, a lot of companies fired their employees," said Mohammed Salahuddine, a second-year college student. "But the Government is different. They'll never do that." Mike Hynes, the managing partner of Kershaw Leonard, a UAE and Qatar-based human resources consultancy, said public jobs were attractive because "historically, the government sector is seen as a job for life. There was little chance of losing that job."

The low percentage of Emiratis in the private sector made the workplace more daunting, with some new graduates preferring to mingle with members of their own culture, Mr Hynes said. In addition, the public sector was often associated with shorter hours and longer holidays. This meant that a government job was "seen as an easier life, with a perception that there was more prestige attached to it", Mr Hynes said.

Omar Hassan, a business student who spent two years as an intern at a bank, said one of the main reasons he no longer wanted a job in that field was that he had to work on Saturdays. "The one-day holiday keeps all locals away from the banks, and I'm one of them," he said. "You go home on Thursday and then the next day is the Friday prayers and that's it, you start thinking about the next day's work.

"You can't think about visiting the family, going on a trip, nothing." Mr Hynes argued that it was "terribly unfair" for inexperienced Emirati students to be expected to conform to a tough work ethic in profit-oriented companies. One way was for companies to have a clear career path for advancement and pay special attention to salaries and the positioning of locals in the hierarchy, because many Emirati graduates aspired to be managers. But Emiratis needed to adjust their expectations from the private sector, Mr Hynes said.

"They need to be realistic and have a timeframe," he said. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a marketing manager, but it won't happen straight away." Not all students at yesterday's fair spoke against the private sector. Abdullah Raqaba, a management student, said it was more diverse and suited entrepreneurial students. "It's a different environment," he said. "They mingle with more people than government workers. As Emiratis, we can't all work in the government sector."

Peter Milner, Dubai Men's College's employer relations co-ordinator, said it was trying to develop more ambitious career paths by encouraging students to take up work placements in both the public and private sectors. "There was a reluctance to go to the private sector, but it's changing," he said. However, concerns remained among students. "The Government is better than the private sector," said Hamad al Bastaki, a health and environment student who wants to work for the municipality.

"In the private sector, you can lose your job if the company goes bankrupt. But the Government is constant." @Email:kshaheen@thenational.ae

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff

Profile box

Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

Top tips

Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
 

Not Dark Yet

Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer

Four stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog

Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Favourite holiday destination: Spain

Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody

Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa

Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners