UAE Jobs: What Skills Do Employers Want Most? AI Not Among Top 10 Requirements

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) UAE employers are looking for something more basic when hiring workers, despite the growing focus on artificial intelligence (AI). Employers look for the ability to communicate, work in teams and lead others.

A new study analysing 4,706 job advertisements in the UAE found that communication was the most requested skill, appearing in 59.1 per cent of listings. Teamwork and leadership followed, while artificial intelligence ranked 13th.

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The UAE Skills Index, released by professional training provider Informa Connect Academy, examined LinkedIn job advertisements posted between August 1 and September 29 to identify the skills employers are seeking.

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The study showed that AI was mentioned in 15.2 per cent of advertisements, just behind Excel, which appeared in 15.8 per cent.

What are the top 10 skills UAE employers want?

According to the study, these were the most frequently mentioned skills:

Communication – 59.1%

Teamwork – 41.7%

Leadership – 32.7%

English – 26.3%

Budgeting – 24.4%

Problem solving – 20.7%

Arabic – 16.5%

Attention to detail – 16.5%

Stakeholder management – 15.8%

Excel – 15.8%

What skills are needed for entry-level jobs?

For those entering the UAE job market, communication skills could be particularly important. The study found that 67.6 per cent of entry-level job advertisements mentioned communication, the highest proportion among all seniority levels.

Communication was also the most frequently mentioned skill across all 11 industries examined in the study, including real estate, hospitality, banking and technology.

In real estate, 72.2 per cent of job advertisements requested communication skills, making it one of the sectors where the requirement was most common.

English was another important requirement, appearing in 35.3 per cent of entry-level listings.

For those applying for senior positions, leadership became more important. It appeared in 70.4 per cent of senior manager and director-level advertisements, compared with 43.9 per cent at manager level.

Which UAE jobs require AI skills?

Although AI did not feature among the overall top 10, the study found that demand varied significantly depending on the profession.

More than half, or 56.6 per cent, of data and analytics job advertisements required at least one AI-related skill.

This was followed by IT and technology at 29.4 per cent, marketing at 18.4 per cent and sales and business development at 15.7 per cent.

Demand was lower in finance and accounting, where 5.7 per cent of advertisements requested AI skills, and project management at 8.3 per cent.

Across all professions, 15.9 per cent of listings required at least one AI-related skill, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning or generative AI.

Interestingly, ChatGPT was specifically mentioned in just 27 job advertisements, representing 0.6 per cent of the total.

What do the findings mean for UAE jobseekers?

The findings suggest that residents looking for employment should not focus only on learning new technology.

Communication, teamwork, problem solving and language skills remain among the most frequently stated requirements across UAE job advertisements.

However, the study also shows that technical skills are particularly important for candidates pursuing careers in data, analytics and technology.

The research examined 57 skills across four categories and counted each skill once per advertisement. Duplicate listings were removed before the analysis.

The rankings reflect how often employers mentioned particular skills in job advertisements, rather than how much weight they gave those skills when selecting candidates.

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