John Tinsley : Gulf Recruitment

The economy of the Middle East has been expanding and diversifying rapidly over the past few decades – accordingly, it offers a variety of job opportunities across most sectors, from hospitality and tourism to engineering, IT, telecommunications and financial services.

Salaries on offer for most United Arab Emirates jobs are among the highest in the developing world, although minimum wage does not exist and the cost of living is escalating. Workers are paid monthly (as opposed to commanding an hourly, daily or weekly rate, as is common in many Western countries) and the UAE has a very strong work ethic. It is not unusual for employees to work six or even seven-day weeks, although Friday is widely observed as the Muslim day of rest and Muslim workers are not expected to work for more than six hours a day during Ramadan.

Whatever your profession, there are plenty of jobs in the Middle East but it is always advisable to secure employment before making the move over there. As a non-national, you will not be entitled to any benefits should you find yourself out of work. Also, under the prevailing Sharia law, the penalties imposed for defaulting on a debt can be draconian. For details on what it is like for an expatriate to work in Saudi Arabia specifically (the largest Arab country), the website http://workinginsaudiarabia.blogspot.com/ has some useful advice.

To relocate to Dubai or another Gulf country, it is essential that you are sponsored.  This means that you will need to have a firm offer of employment before you will be granted a visa.  Your prospective employer will act as your sponsor, and deal with all the paperwork associated with the work and residency visas that you will require. 

It is not possible to obtain a visa for work unless you have an actual contract of employment in place, and you will be unable to apply for visas yourself. 

Sponsorship means that your employer is responsible for you while you are in the country.  If you should need any help or get into any trouble they are responsible for dealing with the situation.  They are also responsible for making sure that you return to your home country when your contract of employment comes to an end. 

Your sponsor may also be required to hold your passport while you are in their employ.  This is so that it is readily available when the authorities run their usual checks to ensure that there are no illegal workers being employed by the company.  Employers are unlikely to take that risk as the penalties are high but the checks are regularly carried out. 

Changing jobs is a complicated procedure and it is not recommended that you try.  Some Gulf countries will not allow a change of sponsor; this avoids any confusion and the possibility that someone will fall through the cracks. 

With strict traditions and unique (from a Western perspective) national laws in place, women’s rights in the Middle East remain vastly different from what they are in the West. However, whilst some countries such as Saudi Arabia continue to enforce regulations which stipulate strict rules against women, other Arab societies including the emirate nations such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai have begun loosening restrictions.

As Western culture permeates the Middle East restrictions against women in the workplace have gradually been lifted, with both locals and foreign women able to find job opportunities. Traditionally working within the nursing and teaching sectors, Arab women have now begun to find a place in the finance and banking sector and as the loosening of laws increases so too have the regulations for foreign women looking for work loosened. Whilst the majority of expatriates continue to be men, their spouses are now beginning to find work too and, though additional paperwork and sponsorship is required, for the most part working women are becoming more common.

Like Arab women many expatriate women can find job opportunities within the nursing and educational sectors. In addition increasing tourism and the need for managerial expertise is opening opportunities for hotel administrators, public relations, advertising and more.

Generally most women in the workplace are safeguarded against issues like sexual harassment due to the severe repercussions for the perpetrator. An influx of eastern European prostitutes has lowered the respect for foreign women, making it paramount that females in the workplace take care not to befriend male workers, causing misunderstandings regarding flirtatiousness to arise. However, with a good understanding of local religion, culture and law, women from abroad are increasingly finding jobs in the UAE and the Middle East, making for a crucial change in the traditional Arab workplace.

IT jobs in Saudi Arabia are in great demand with qualified and skilled professionals who want to work in the Gulf region.  Job seekers will be able to find positions at all levels but the market is very competitive and anyone applying for a job must be sure that they meet the requirements for the position.   

Foreign workers are often recommended to target larger companies that can help them to settle in the area and who probably offer more benefits than a smaller organisation.  There is also more job security associated with larger companies, as well as larger salaries and more benefits.  

Jobs seekers will find that among the positions available are jobs for computer programmers, software developers, systems analysts, IT engineers, project managers and general managers.  A recruitment agency may be able to help you to find a suitable vacancy but job seekers should be sure they are working with a reputable agency as there are a number of organisations in operation which attempt to defraud people.  Do not pay any money to a recruitment agency. 

Most IT jobs in Saudi Arabia will be based in one of the major cities, usually either Riyadh or Jeddah.  It is important for those moving to the region to ensure that they are familiar with the customs and differences between life there and in the West.  For those unfamiliar with the region it can be a culture shock when you first arrive to discover that there are restrictions on travelling and no nightclubs.

Obtaining a residence visa in Saudi Arabia is not a straightforward process. It usually takes three or more months to complete the process, and authorisation must be issued to the applicant’s sponsor by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  

The embassy will need all the paperwork associated with any offer of jobs in Saudi Arabia; this includes the job contract, details of the worker’s qualifications and a medical examination certificate. Once all the paperwork has been checked and verified by the embassy they will then issue the visa number.  A stamped residency visa is issued, and once the worker arrives in the country this is converted into a residency permit. It is required by law that all foreign workers carry this permit with them at all times. It is a form of photograph identification and authorities can ask to see it at any time.

The worker must have at least six months left to run on their passport; if there is less than one year to go, it may be worth getting a fresh passport before leaving the country. Several photocopies of the passport should be made as all passports are left with the employer. This is because random checks are made with employers to ensure their workers are not being employed illegally.

Those relocating for work with their families should be aware that all their family members need birth certificates and medical examination certificates also.

Anyone who has an Israeli stamp on their passport will not be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

For many, changing jobs in the Middle East can prove too time consuming and difficult to even contemplate. The nature of gaining employment in Middle Eastern nations through sponsorship and a work contract means that obligations to a hiring company are great and due to the attractive income and indemnity options provided to expatriates, job transfer is not often an option that workers want to consider.

Traditionally foreign workers were provided with short term contracts, often around two years, which could be extended by the mutual consent of both employee and employer. However changes in recent times, largely to protect employers from losing their workforce to competitors, have meant that open-ended contracts are often issued. Usually including clauses such as an employer’s right to wait a six month period before renewing an employee’s visa, it has made it increasingly difficult for some to change jobs, with this clause in particular resulting in individuals having to effectively leave the nation for half a year before they can apply for a new work visa.

There are ways of changing jobs; particularly if both parties give mutual consent and an employee or sponsor provides a no objection certificate (NOC). However, employers are often reluctant to issue these as a large investment, including relocation and training costs, has been made in a worker – costs which a competitor would not have to incur. Meanwhile even those who leave the country for six months before reapplying for a visa may find it difficult to find an appropriate position in the niche they were previously working in due to companies’ reluctance to fall out with one another, especially over workforce considerations.

With such difficulties in changing jobs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia it is vital for workers to fully investigate and research a position before they take it as, in the Middle East, there is no quick fix for an unhappy work placement.

Trying to find jobs in United Arab Emirates can be difficult if you are starting from scratch.  There are lots of online resources you can use to help you, but there can be almost too many in some cases.

Luckily you can start your job search for free.  There are many websites which have job boards or listings comprising lots of different jobs in United Arab Emirates.  You will usually still have to register for each site but you will not be charged for doing so.  Once you have done this you can have a log in that enables you to get quick and easy access to each site you join.

You may find it worthwhile to sign up to job sites using a dedicated email address.  If jobs in United Arab Emirates are emailed to you, it is useful to have them all coming into the same place.

You can also refine your search to make it easier to find a specific type of job.  For example if you are looking for jobs in IT make sure your search caters for this.  Whatever sector you want to work in, ensure you look on as many free sites as possible.  This will give you the best chance of finding the largest number of jobs in UAE in the shortest amount of time.

Once you have found these free job sites you will be able to check them daily for new leads.

Working in the oil industry in the United Arab Emirates is not for beginners.  You will already need to be working and established in the oil industry if you want to be considered for UAE oil jobs.  The more experience you have and the more relevant qualifications you have in this field, the better your chances are of successfully relocating from your current home to work in the United Arab Emirates oil industry.

Engineering jobs within the oil industry are many and varied, and all require extensive experience.  You will find both contract and staff positions available, although they tend to be weighted more towards contract positions than anything else.  So there are no nasty surprises later on ensure that you know the terms of the job you are applying for before you send them an application.  There is nothing wrong with signing up for a twelve month contract if you are happy in your own mind that you can live there for at least that length of time.

Because of the nature of UAE oil jobs the specifics for applying for each position will be quite in-depth.  For example a lead mechanical engineer might need experience of working in an environment featuring PMC, FEED and EPC.  If you are unsure of any terms used in the requirements for an advert, the chances are you will not be suitable for those UAE oil jobs.

Ensure you read through all the responsibilities that you will have and duties you will be expected to undertake.  The more confident you are of meeting all the requirements, the better the chance of successfully getting the job.

If you are currently being paid on a weekly basis you need to be prepared for a change if you are looking for jobs in the UAE.  This is because wages for jobs UAE are typically paid on a monthly salary basis.  You will find this to be no problem if you currently get paid monthly anyway, but those who are paid more often need to prepare for the idea of going for four weeks without any money coming in.

The best way to cope with this is to start saving in advance several months before you intend to make the move to the United Arab Emirates.  Work out what your average monthly outgoings will be and try and put by at least that amount.  Jobs UAE pay different amounts according to the expertise required and the seniority of the role.  Many people earn around 2,000 to 4,000 dirhams every month.  Make sure you convert your current salary into dirhams to get an idea of the exchange rate and how it will affect you during those first few essential weeks.

Once you are over the challenge of the first month and you have received your first payment for your position, you will be able to plan ahead for the coming month.  After a while you will become familiar with getting paid monthly instead of weekly, and you will learn to budget your money accordingly.  But there is definitely a lot to be said for starting your financial planning before you arrive in the UAE.

When you decide to look for jobs in UAE you have more than just a job to think about.  You will be moving to another country altogether if you are successful in your search, so you have to think about where you are going to live too.

Some companies providing jobs in UAE have schemes in place that provide you with housing as well as a position within their company.  This is by far the easiest route to finding everything you need, since you will not have to do a property search as well as a job search.

In many instances companies provide housing complexes that all their expat workers stay in.  Sometimes these are offered free of charge, which obviously means you will be able to save more of your income for other things.  You will also be close to other people from abroad who are getting used to jobs in UAE and living in another country as well, so you can share your experiences.

One thing you do need to bear in mind if you are going to find your own property is that renting often requires several months to be paid for in one go before you move in.  Some landlords require a year in advance.  If you are working on a shorter contract it may be better to find alternative accommodation so you don’t have to pay for more than you need.  Always check the market carefully to see whether you have the best housing for your needs.