Unveiling GCC's Seasonal Hiring Trends For Q4 Of 2023

Author: TASC Outsourcing
Oct 03, 2023

Well, as 2023 comes to a close with its final quarter of the year, companies are gearing up to meet their yearly hiring and performance targets. If you are in the GCC region, understanding hiring trends can help you stay ahead of the times and meet compliance requirements with ease. The hiring landscape in GCC is an ever-changing one. Due to the rapidly growing economy, the quality of life, and the ease of doing business in this region, top companies from all sectors have regional offices in this region. 

The GCC region offers growth scope for businesses of all scales and industries. However, with this growth potential, companies must also deal with stiff competition and growing market demands. Quality hiring is one of those crucial areas that help businesses overcome most operational challenges. Most successful companies in the GCC are outsourcing hiring and HR solutions to meet quality requirements. And this results in companies developing a skilled workforce that delivers the required performance efficiently and constantly. 

Importance Of Quality Hiring for Businesses In GCC

As mentioned above, the GCC is a global business hub with countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia offering a highly promising corporate landscape for businesses to flourish. So, companies need a highly efficient workforce to deliver top-class performance to meet market demands. But again, locating, hiring, and retaining top talent is not an easy task with an in-house team facing stiff competition in the market. Almost every company is looking for the best candidates, so companies must have their best recruitment plan in place. 

Further, due to the fast-growing economy and ever-adapting corporate structure of GCC, companies must also improvise their recruitment strategies with time. Breaking down the year's plan into four quarters and having a separate strategy to tackle the market's seasonal requirements is the key to ensuring efficient hiring. 

So, if you plan to hire candidates in Q4 of 2023, ensure you are well-familiar with these hiring trends.

  1. The New Compliance Regulations – Emiratisation

If you own a business in GCC, you must be aware of the various local hiring regulations in the private and public sectors. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have hiring rules like Emiratisation and Saudization, which require private companies to hire UAE nationals and Saudi nationals, respectively. 

The UAE has recently announced a major change in its Emiratisation rules. Earlier, the rule required all companies with more than 50 employees to hire 1% Emirati citizens every six months. And failing to meet the half-yearly requirements could acquire penalties of up to AED 42,000. 

However, the government of UAE has decided to further expand the rule to private companies having a workforce of 20 to 49 employees. So, for 2024, companies with 20 to 49 employees must hire at least one Emirati national in skilled job positions and two by 2025. 

Similarly, Saudi Arabia has national recruitment compliance regulations, which can attract penalties if a company fails to meet the required hiring percentage. So, most top recruitment agencies and private companies expect a quick rise in localized hiring in the second half of 2023. Due to the new rules, even small businesses with more than 20 employees must hire UAE nationals to meet the compliance requirements. Therefore, companies must accelerate localized hiring in the coming months. 

  1. Meeting Tech Recruitment Demands

With the increasing use of digital technologies and software, the demand for skilled tech experts is steadily rising in the GCC. According to GulfNews.Com, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other GCC countries are ramping up technology hiring to meet the requirements of the modern business world.  

The arrival of AI technology and the reliance of companies on software solutions are both causing a significant boost in technology hiring in 2023. With this rise in demand, businesses face challenges in locating talented technology experts capable of handling the latest technologies.

Outsourcing agencies like TASC Outsourcing have significantly helped businesses cope with the shortage of skills and experience in the tech sector. By hiring highly skilled local and international tech experts, recruitment agencies are playing a crucial role in meeting the hiring demands. If you are having trouble finding skilled tech candidates, getting in touch with a recruitment agency can solve the issue. 

  1. Travel & Tourism Sector Hiring

As the GCC nations focus on expanding the non-oil industries in the region, the travel and tourism industry is expected to change a lot in the coming years. According to the Arabian Business, the travel sector may require thousands of workers to meet the market demands in 2023. 

The tourism sector has shown up to 20% growth in 2023, and the property sector is also showing steady and significant expansion. These statistics point towards a boom in the coming months. Companies in the travel and tourism sector may require large numbers of skilled employees in the next two quarters of 2023 to meet the market surge in 2024. 

  1. Meeting Salary & Cost Of Living Balance

Surveys conducted by TASC Outsourcing in 2023 pointed towards two major challenges. The first challenge was companies facing unrealistic salary demands from employees. And the second issue was that several UAE nationals were unhappy with their current salary. This points towards an imbalance in the salary vs. cost-of-living ratio, especially in top locations like Dubai. Therefore, companies can look to strengthen partnerships with HR and Recruitment outsourcing agencies to develop better-balanced schemes that offer employee satisfaction, better employee benefits, seamless recruitment, and employee retention in a nutshell. 

TASC Outsourcing Holds The Key!

The seasonal hiring trends across the GCC region show significant growth, and the demands may rise further in 2024. So, to stay ahead of the competition and the upcoming market demands, companies must focus on partnering with the best recruitment and HR outsourcing agencies in GCC. This is where TASC Outsourcing come into play…

With over 15 years of local and global recruitment experience, we have a database of 1.5M+ vetted candidatesand in-depth recruitment connections across diverse industries and sectors, allowing us to seamlessly assist companies in meeting their hiring demands in the coming months. 

Get in touch with our recruitment experts now!