Talent acquisition will continue to be a key focus for Middle East-based companies in 2017 with recruiters focusing on quality of hiring, according to a new LinkedIn report.
Jobs pertaining to operations, sales and engineering will be the highest priority roles to fill in the region in 2017, said its MENA Recruiting Trends 2017 report.
According to the report, over 81 percent of regional talent leaders feel that talent is the number one priority in their organisation and in 2017 this will gain even more prominence.
The survey, that took into account responses of more than 170 corporate talent acquisition leaders across the Middle East and North Africa, said the majority (over 60 percent) preparing for an increase in hiring volume.
The survey said only 29 percent feel it will decrease and 11 percent feel budgets and recruiting team headcounts will stay flat.
“The recruiting organisation is not the flashiest department. It doesn’t directly bring in revenue or create game-changing products. Yet, it is the quiet enabler behind company successes and this has not gone unnoticed,” said Ali Matar, head of LinkedIn Talent Solutions for Growth Markets, Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa.
The report also revealed that operations, sales and engineering will be the highest priority roles to fill in 2017.
“The demand for operations, sales and engineering talent is so prevalent that recruiting teams in MENA have to start thinking more strategically about how to find and recruit these talent pools. Relying on data to pinpoint locations where the supply of talent is higher than the demand is a crucial first step. Another successful tactic is targeting each of these functions with highly customized employer branding content,” added Matar.
The report noted that social professional networks will continue to remain the top source of quality talent.
