53% of fresh graduates in Qatar find it challenging to get job, says survey
More than half (53%) of fresh graduates in Qatar feel that the greatest challenge standing between them and a successful career is the preference for candidates with work experience by employers, according to the Bayt.com 'Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa Survey'.
According to the recently-released survey by Bayt.com, a leading jobsite in the Middle East, and YouGov, an international research organisation, the majority of fresh graduates in Qatar claimed it was challenging or will be challenging to secure their first job, with 22% of them rating it 'very difficult'.
In addition to employers preferring candidates with work experience, respondents cited lack of understanding regarding how to effectively search for jobs (34%) and lack of knowledge as to where to find relevant jobs (28%) as the main challenges they face when trying to secure their first job.
When asked to rank their most important attributes when selecting a job, 'doing a job I feel passionate about' emerged as the most important attribute for fresh graduates (38%) in Qatar. This was followed by working for a 'well-known organisation' (16%) and 'competitive salaries' (15%).
While finding a job may be challenging, fresh graduates in Qatar are not giving up. Despite what many perceive as a 'negative outlook', the largest proportion (34%) claim they will keep looking until they find a job in their industry of choice.
Results also point to a pragmatic youth, with one in every four (26%) fresh Qatari graduates surveyed claiming they will start looking for a job in another industry and a further 21% claiming they will look for any job no matter the industry.
A majority (64%) of fresh graduates surveyed in Qatar feel they would have fared better in the job market had they selected either a different major (28%), the same major from a different school (10%) or both a different major and a different school (26%).
While one in every 10 fresh graduates in Qatar were unaware of what salary they should expect for their first job, 42% received or expected to receive between $750 and $2,000 per month.
The results, however, reveal very different salary expectations across the region, with 53% of fresh graduates in Egypt, for example, expecting a monthly salary of $500 or less, while 46% of fresh graduates in Saudi Arabia saying they would expect a first salary between $1,000 and $3,000 per month.
As for the perceived barriers to getting their first job, those surveyed in Qatar believe the primary barriers for hiring fresh graduates in many industries are their 'lack of experience' and 'lack of necessary skills' (63% and 32%, respectively).
However, for the industries which do hire fresh graduates, their lower salary expectations (47%), compliance and willingness to follow instructions (39%) emerged as the key motivations for hiring fresh graduates.
The research was conducted with 4,247 fresh graduates, who had completed their most recent qualification in the last three years, and was conducted between May 8 and May 22, 2016, from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. All responses were collected online
Courtesy: Qatar-tribune.com
It is just not that, Mufti. When Saudis join a company they are very attentive and show much enthusiasm at their jobs for only the first three months This is because during this period, the company could terminate their services with a day's notice. Once, the three-month probation is over, their services get automatically confirmed as per the Labour Laws of that country. There is possibly no way by which their service could be terminated even by a Saudi director. They have all the backing of the Labour Office. They then just relax, pass the day drinking Qawa (or Ghawa as they call it), and leave the work to be done by the expatriates.
And their performance is dismissal in the offices. My Egyptian, Lebanese & Jordanian colleagues drink at least 20 cups of coffee/day, smoke 8-10 times/ day, push their work to others and then want preference over South Asians in terms of salaries, promotion and other yearly appraisal.
While I am not aware of the situation in other countries that was in the survey, I sure know about Saudi Arabia and the information about Saudi Arabia stated in this post is far from the truth and the realities on the ground. I firmly believe that no Saudi would accept $1000 as a starting salary after he has graduated. It is simply impossible and I can say this with confidence. A starting salary of $3000 for a fresh Saudi graduate may sound reasonable. I had interviewed many Saudis who had passed grade 8 or 9 in school and were looking for a job and they were all freshmen. None of them could read or speak a word of English. One question ALL of them asked me during the interviews was, "How quickly can I become a "mudeer" after joining? When I told them say after five or six years of working and gaining the required experience, they would not be interested in the job. They wanted to become a "mudeer" within just six months! Not just that, after the interview one Saudi applicant who miserably failed the interview, went a step further and complained to the Saudi Director as to why he was not given the job as it was "right" as a Saudi, asking him why a foreign national was occupying a position which he 'deserved." None of them were willing to accept a job which paid less than $1500.
lol lol
First job should be joined with much joys ...................... money is not everything ......... important your future ................
Such a brilliant article - Joys
Ofcourse Egyptian graduates would expect less salaray - Its to do with reality and cost of living in the country.
"More than half (53%) of fresh graduates in Qatar feel that the greatest challenge standing between them and a successful career is the preference for candidates with work experience by employers..." - This is not rocket science - Did we really need a survey to realise this ?