RIYADH: The UAE continues to be one of the key markets for job outsourcing, with the emirate-based organizations expected to spend close to $7 billion this year, as companies are unable to meet local demand due to undersupply, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group.
The report pointed out that this void represents a substantial potential for providers of offshore job outsourcing services.
The total spending by UAE-based organizations on outsourcing services was estimated over $4.8 billion in 2018, but this is expected to reach $6.8 billion in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 7 percent, the report added.
The top growth-contributing industries include financial services, the public sector, telecommunications, hospitality and leisure.
According to Leila Hoteit, managing director and senior partner at BCG, the UAE is striving to diversify its economy.
Three job clusters are very important to the UAE’s future economic prospects, according to an analysis of national and emirate-level initiatives which indicates a promising future for job outsourcing.
“These are infrastructure management services, such as cloud engineers and cybersecurity analysts; software and applications development, that include software engineers but also application developers; and finally, data and artificial intelligence, for data scientists and blockchain developers,” Hoteit informed.
The report also stated that the UAE now has the second-largest economy in the Arab world, with a gross domestic product of roughly $360 billion in 2020.
Additionally, it is a major supplier of talent in the Gulf Cooperation Council. In 2018, the UAE’s local supply of outsourcing services was estimated to be $1.3 billion.
Customer support, finance and accounting, human resources and knowledge process outsourcing are the major jobs and job clusters supplied by the UAE.
The UAE is one of the key markets or demand ‘hot spots’ for job outsourcing, the report stated, adding that it continues to be a strategic hub, with business-friendly free zones and a quickly growing economy.
