According to a recent survey, 72% of respondents of 548 senior executives from a wide range of industries and functions across the globe say that talent management will become increasingly important to strategy implementation and execution in the next 3 years.
Depending on a particular skills requirement, replacing an employee can cost from 25% to 250% of a position’s annual salary as resource management is complicated by various factors— from the cost of staff turnover to the loss of knowledge as experienced employees leave or retire.
Talent availability remains a significant concern. In an age where companies are increasingly differentiated by the talent they can deploy, it is a concern for CEOs everywhere. But it is a particular issue for Middle East CEOs where in a survey of 32 business leaders from 8 Middle East countries, more than two-thirds (69%) point to the availability of key skills as a potential threat to growth compared to 58% in the global survey. This 69% includes 31% who are ‘extremely concerned.
With talent widely recognized as central to powering growth, more CEOs are taking action. Over half (56%)of Middle East CEOs count investment in filling talent gaps among their top three investment priorities compared to just 27% of CEOs in the global survey.
A large majority (84%) of HR directors tell us that they are challenged in finding skilled, professional-level employees and that they need to hire niche specialists with the requisite skills and experience to deliver growth strategies. Many of the most in-demand professionals are again receiving multiple offers and counteroffers in what can aptly be called a ‘war for talent.
Most In-Demand Job Domains in the Middle East Are:
- Accountancy and Finance
- Financial Services
- Technology
- Human Resources
- Legal
- IT
- Engineering
- Marketing
- Sales
Industries that have Demanded for These Job Roles Are:
- Real estate
- Construction
- Energy/Oil and gas
- Engineering
- Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)
- Corporate Banking
- Insurance
- Vendor-based technology firms/ management consultancy consulting
- Pharma/Healthcare
- Banking and financial services
Skills in Demand:
- Project management functional skills
- Customer relationship management
- Security data center experience
- ERP systems: SAP, Oracle (tale nalli machine)
- Financial planning and analysis
- Hyperion Financial Management (HFM)
- ACA, ACCA, CIMA qualifications
Future Demand for Talent
There is a growing demand for talent in various industry sectors across the globe. The table below will give you an idea of what numbers the demand is there. Particularly in the MENA region, there is nearly 13% more demand in the coming years.
How can Employers Reduce the Skills Gap in the Middle East?
In a recent survey where professionals were asked how employers can help in reducing the skills gap, this is what they said:
- 29% said that employers can increase their investment in training
- 22% said that employers can redeploy employees to roles where their skills are most needed
- 19% said that employers can work closer and earlier with universities on curriculums
