72% Of Local Students Plan To Work In The UAE

The UAE is seen as an attractive destination for both national and expatriate graduates to live and work in after completing their studies, according to a new survey.

The study, by Aon Hewitt and Dubai International Acadmeic City, found that 72 per cent of the 2,300 students polled said they intended to stay and work in the emirates after graduating.

Half of all transnational expatriates – individuals who specifically came to the UAE to pursue higher education – said they want to stay and work in the UAE.

“The Middle East is a unique labour market – policy makers, business leaders and HR professionals must ‘localize’ their strategy and approach to work within this context,” said Dr. Markus Wiesner, CEO, Aon Hewitt Middle East.

“The findings from the study will help employers understand the key engagement drivers for the new generation of national and expatriate talent entering the workforce and help derive an attractive value proposition to recruit, retain and engage university graduates in the future.”

The study also supported the widely-held belief that Emirati students favour the public sector for their career, with 53 per cent of them opting to work in the government sector.

Just 7.6 per cent of UAE nationals said they would like to work in the private sector, with 3.6 per cent opting to become entrepreneurs, while 53 per cent would engage in futher studies.