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UAE: Regional firms look for candidates' skills as they go global, say experts
Seventy per cent of skills are expected to change by 2030, according to an expert
- PUBLISHED: Wed 30 Apr 2025, 6:23 PM
As UAE and regional companies go global, they are looking for candidates with additional skills and different experiences, HR experts said on Wednesday.
“Historically, it used to be global businesses coming to the region. That's shifting. It's regional businesses that are moving globally. So now they're looking for additional skill sets. They're looking for different experiences. They are now playing on a global field to attract talent,” said Alice Weightman, Global CEO and Regional Head of Mena of Hanson Search.
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While speaking during the Future Workforce Summit organised by Khaleej Times on Wednesday, Weightman said, “What we fundamentally need is individuals that can adapt to AI and are also curious because it's a different landscape here. It's multicultural. You need people who are able to adapt and are curious about this.”
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She added that the government initiative is driving this region to access more global talent and bring it into the region.
Hundreds of recruitment and HR professionals from various walks of life attended the one-day summit held in Dubai on Wednesday.
Susana Correia, Head of Search and Staffing for Mena at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, said if companies in the UAE and Mena want to attract top talent, win the war for talent and lead the future of work, “they need to move early and invest where it matter".
"And what matters is having a skill-first hiring framework in place that looks to hire for potential, and not just for traditional job titles and degrees. Second is offering real flexibility beyond policies to create cultures of trust and autonomy,” she said during a fireside chat on 'Leading the Talent Odyssey: UAE’s Path to Becoming a Global Talent Hub'.
She noted that skills-based hiring is accelerating and there is a ten-fold increase in companies that look to hire for skills and not just the traditional way of recruitment.
“AI adoption is accelerated, so 70 per cent of professionals in Mena are using AI to be better at their thoughts. Also, flexibility is non-negotiable. Around 75 per cent of professionals want hybrid work and flexible work. These are must-haves,” she said, adding that Gen-Z is reshaping expectations and they want purpose.
She elaborated that 70 per cent of skills are expected to change by 2030.
“Jobs are changing value. It is important to upskill and reskill, and it's a decisive moment for companies in Mena that want to lead the next phase of growth.”
Highlighting the preferences that professionals have, she added that top talent wants to work for companies where leaders lead with authentic purpose. “They want to see real values, not just words on a website. It's not no longer about offering jobs. It's about offering career journeys, where people feel that they can make a real impact. There's a lot from Mena's perspective that companies need to be doing if they want to win the war for talent and lead the future of work,” Susana said during the fireside chat.
