These are the sectors most likely to offer new jobs in the Middle East this year
If you want an indication of where the jobs are currently, it’s arguably as useful to ask those looking for them – namely financial professionals – as it is the recruiters looking to fill them.
The CFA Institute has just polled 200 of its members in the MENA region to test their sentiment on investment and career issues. The sector most likely to offer new positions this year, they believe, is private equity with real estate investment a close second.
Nearly 40% of those surveyed believe that private equity will offer most jobs this year, 38% think real estate is a good bet while 35% suggest that commercial banking is most likely to offer a new career opportunity.
There have been a few signs of the recruitment spree in private equity so far this year, notably TVM Capital’s appointment of Sameer Al Ansari, Jongghun Lee joining Barclays Natural Resource Investments and Citadel Capital hiring Joelle Fahmy as managing director this month.
Interestingly, optimism around investment banking job creation is still on a par with that of sovereign wealth funds (SWF). This is despite the fact that investment banks have continued to pare back headcount in the Middle East in recent months, while SWFs have maintained their tendency to hire international talent. Earlier this year, for example, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority named Gregory Eckersley as global head of internal equities.
