Emirates, Etihad among students’ preferred UAE employers, study shows

Emirates airline, Emaar Properties and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were highly favoured, the study by Universum, an employer branding specialist, shows.

Dubai carrier Emirates was the main employer of choice of Emirati students. Ali Haider / EPA

UAE companies are students’ preferred employers of choice, according to a new study.

Local corporations dominate the preferences of business administration, information technology (IT) and engineering students. Emirates airline, Emaar Properties and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) were highly favoured, the study by Universum, an employer branding specialist, shows.

Emirati students who were surveyed said they were more motivated by a culture of respect at the workplace than material rewards.

Local companies made up four of the top five employers of choice for business administration students, with a company that is not based in the country among the top five. Emirates was ranked first, followed by Google, Etihad Airways, Emaar and Adnoc.

For IT and engineering students, Google and Microsoft were their top employers of choice, in line with their global peers, followed by Adnoc, Emaar and Masdar.

Emirati students identified “a respect for its people” as the No 1 criterion in choosing an employer, followed by a creative and dynamic work environment, and high future earnings.

Non-Emirati respondents, however, said “high future earnings” was their top criterion, followed by professional training and development, and a creative and dynamic work environment. “An employer that offers a respectful environment and a proper work-life balance is very important for Emiratis, and especially so for Emirati women,” said Claudia Tattanelli, Universum’s chairwoman. “They’re choosing local companies who are seen to be building the future of their country, but also giving back to them in the form of world-class training and personal development programmes.”

The importance of a culture of respect is connected with the desire of Emirati students to work with employers identified as being at the centre of national and emirate-level pursuits.

“With Emirati graduates there’s a strong commitment to the vision of Dubai, and there’s a strong desire in them to contribute to their country,” said Rasha Sbeih, manager of organisational culture and performance management at Dubai Airports.

“There’s an attraction to Dubai Airports as the new busiest airport in the world and being integral to Expo 2020, and employees want to be part of that.”

The airports operator was the sixth most attractive employer for business administration students and seventh for IT and engineering graduates.

Although Emirati and foreign students cited a work-life balance as their primary career goal, Emiratis chose “to be a leader or manager of people” as their No 2 priority, as opposed to foreigners who ranked that fifth on their list, choosing job security and stability as their No 2 priority.

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