The Coronavirus pandemic has badly affected jobs globally
where an estimated 2.7 billion workers are out of a job, according to the
International Labour Organisation. However, every challenge is also an
opportunity. This axiom has been true with at least some industries that are
performing extremely well in pandemic times.
Though most businesses have been operating on minimum
resources and have kept the hiring on the back burner, many critical jobs like
logistics and medical niche have been operating in full capacity or even above
it.
Growing business niches
There has been a rise in companies that are hiring
aggressively to meet workforce requirements. Some of the niches that have seen
an increase in new job vacancies in UAE include Internet
& E-commerce, IT Services, Medical, Distribution & Logistics, and
software development.
The rise in demand for these core job sectors was quite
expected because with most organizations switching to the remote workforce and
adapting to a fully virtual world for running their business, the technology sector is likely to make a robust growth in the days ahead.
Internet & E-commerce has recorded a growth rate of 54
percent while for IT services the growth rate increased by a staggering 164%.
Medical services grew by 73% while Distribution & Logistics recorded 275%
and the Software Development growth rate was up by 150 percent compared to
April 2020.
Digital future
The pandemic has triggered a digital transformation of workplaces
and organizations at an unimaginable pace across every sector. As employees
participate in Zoom meetings, virtual tradeshows, and business events, business
activities have become smarter and faster. The use of the internet during the
pandemic has risen by 50 percent in some parts of the world as most areas of
our daily lives have moved online.
In the near future, job opportunities in automation, digital
and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will make the cornerstone of the economy of most countries including UAE. These state of the art technologies
are likely to account for about 60 percent of potential productivity growth
globally by 2030.
How conventions about jobs may change
While 70% of UAE employees are forced to take a fresh look
at their career goals post Covid-19, companies may have to come up with
flexible working policies to retain and attract the best talent.
With the plum job postings likely to be centered around IT
and technology in the days ahead, employees in other niches like
hospitality, tourism, and other allied segments will be motivated to
evaluate their career prospects as global job markets make fine adjustments in
the wake of to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many employees might be looking for new roles or enhancing
their skill sets and job-worthy attributes to fit into the new normal world job
market. 53 percent of UAE respondents said they feared coronavirus-induced job
losses to be short term with no repercussions on their long-term career
prospects.
Remote working may become the new norm
Reports show that 8 in 10 people in the UAE will continue to
work remotely after Covid-19. So, virtual world technology will be the calling
card for the best possible career options for prospective employees. Remote
working will no longer be a stop-gap arrangement for organizations to manage
schedules and ensure better employee rotation. It is likely to be a permanent
arrangement even after the pandemic wave is flattened completely.
80 percent of employees in UAE opined that they wish
to continue working from home after the pandemic ends to save time and money.
About half of the respondents said remote working made them feel more
productive.
How work culture can change
As more businesses plan to reopen their businesses and
switch back to near normal operations companies may have to come up with
flexible working policies and practices. Employee's core skills and competency
will be reassessed and to meet the evolving business priorities a supportive
workplace culture may set in.
For employers, retaining and attracting the best talent has
become as important as never before. The workforce with adequate technical
skills that will be valued in the virtual new normal world will be in huge
demand for sure.
Digital by design
To sustain itself and grow in the post-pandemic world, any
organization has to be digital by default. The companies that survived the
aftermath of the pandemic are those that were better prepared in terms of IT
infrastructure. The adaptation of digital and AI technologies will see a huge
demand for employees in this core sector. The employees may have to upskill or
reskill to remain ahead in the evolving job market and climb up their career
ladder.
Company leaders will need to consider appropriate tools,
training, and incentives to enable employees to be productive and adapt to the
tech business world. Employees will get an opportunity to learn from a lot of
innovations and experiments, which will ensure a substantial increase in economic
and social welfare.
Accelerating Industries
Some sectors that have registered enormous growth during
this difficult time include technology, internet services, digital
entertainment, e-commerce, and e-groceries. In general, we are likely to
see an emerging economy where businesses become more focused on implementing
new technologies and identifying efficiencies.
Employees indeed have a lot of new jobs in UAE coming up
often in the most unexpected areas of the job market beyond the conventional
sectors in UAE like construction, real estate, tourism, etc. Having the
right skill sets will indeed make the difference between the ordinary and
extraordinary job positions in the post-pandemic new normal world.
