GF
Seven months and I’m off…
1 May 2008
Jobs are plentiful, talent is scarce, competition is fierce and fickle financial services professionals in the Middle East are now changing jobs every seven months.
The skills shortage in financial services in the Middle East is well known and it seems bankers are using this to their advantage – bolting after bonuses and shifting jobs for extra cash or a better position.
Speaking at a recent conference, and citing headhunter research, Firas Mallah, Middle East head for Bahrain-based Dexia Asset Management, says Dubai is the worst for job-hopping.
“The advantage of being in Bahrain is that there is less job volatility. The average tenure in Bahrain is 18 months, against seven months in Dubai.”
In fact, Mallah says that financial services professionals go through so many companies that after a few years some CVs resemble a copy of War and Peace.
“In the UAE, you will find it a common scenario for a financial services executive to hop through three companies in less than two years.”
The combined pressures of a lack of ‘Middle East experience’, localisation targets and massive expansion plans have added to the jobs merry-go-round, reckons Wassim Moukahhal, private equity associate at The National Investor.
“All financial companies are looking at the same pool of talent, which is scarce. In this part of the world, every person who finds a new job gets an offer the next day, with better pay and benefits.”
A study by consultants Mercer shows that an influx of expats has lead to an increased focus on Western-style benefits. Occupational pension funds, private medical plans and perks like school fees and housing allowance are taking the pressure off salaries, reckons the survey.
If foreign workers need visa that is sponsored by the employer how could they change jobs twice a year ?
AMR 03 May 2008
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