Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become an employment hotspot for graduates due to its rapidly expanding business centre. Many international companies are relocating or establishing local operations there on a weekly basis. There are plenty of job opportunities available. The types of jobs are broad and vary depending on your training and expertise.
91.5% of the working population is expatriate. The high unemployment rate for UAE nationals (11.4% in 2004) is being addressed by the government. Local graduates are being encouraged to take up employment, and employers are strongly urged to recruit emirate graduates.
There are no personal taxes in the UAE and, as a result, it has become popular with ex-pats keen to take advantage of the competitive wages and good lifestyle.
Dubai’s business environment is the Middle East’s only meritocracy. Young men and women compete openly with ideas and ambitions to make their nation a model example for Muslim societies besieged by high unemployment, low literacy rates, bad trade policies, and authoritarian political structures. They run businesses transparently, with integrity and with an increasingly democratic and accountable corporate culture.
At Employers’ Day 2007, 81 per cent of the participating employers were from the private sector, while the government and semi-government sectors made up the remaining 19 per cent. Last year, 109 job offers were made during the Employers’ Day, out of which 72 were accepted.