Survey shows UAE still tops for career minded expats

Expats determined to further their careers should still head for the UAE, according to the latest survey by HSBC.

Regarded as the best expat destination for successful careers in Asia and the Middle East, the UAE is also the fourth best in the world for salaries, relocation benefits packages and overall lifestyle.UAE-based responders to the Expat Explorer survey numbered over 3,000, with the results showing the work environment had improved still more over the results of the 2015 study.

The survey included a number of categories ranging from work-life balance through career progression, earnings prospects, work culture, benefits packages and chances to learn new skills to a sense of fulfilment at work. Every category showed an improvement during 2016 in both work and life in general for those surveyed.

One of the major reasons for the UAE’s popularity with expat professionals is its earnings potential, with salaries some 14 per cent higher than the average globally. Two-thirds of respondents stated they were earning more than in their home countries, with Qatar and Switzerland the only countries with higher salary ratings.

As regards benefits, provisions as part of employment packages from UAE companies totalled 93 per cent of employees, placing the emirates in the top five along with Saudi Arabia at 95 per cent, Oman at 94 per cent and Egypt at 94 per cent. Across the entire Middle East, some 91 per cent of expat professionals receive at least one contractual benefit.

Although the UAE’s ranking as regards career progression put it at eighth place, higher-ranked destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and USA lost out on work-life balance, all scoring well below the global average. In the work culture category, the UAE came 11th, and over 50 per cent of respondents appreciated the chance to acquire new skills as well as praising the fulfilling nature of their jobs.

Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!

• 
• 
• 
•