The Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa Survey

July 2014
The Bayt.com
Fresh Graduates in the MENA Survey

Objectives
§ The Fresh Graduates survey targets respondents who completed their most recent educational
qualification within the last three years. Key objectives included:
§ Uncovering respondent’s perception of the quality of education they received across a
number of key attributes including value for money, curriculum, teaching methods and
usage of technology.
§ Looking at the extent to which the education respondents received prepared them for the
work force, including whether or not respondents acquired any work experience during
their studies.
§ Recognizing respondent’s expectations from the workplace, including expected salary.
§ Identifying which industries are most appealing to fresh graduates.
§ Looking at the perception respondents have of the availability of jobs for fresh graduates
in their country of residence and the willingness of respondents to relocate for
employment purposes.
§ Revealing the challenges fresh graduates face in finding jobs and in life in general.

Key findings
§ Overall most respondents claim to be satisfied with the quality of higher education they
received, with over a quarter claiming to be “very satisfied”.
§ The majority of respondents rate the quality of their higher education positively in terms of the
curriculum, qualifications of teachers, value for money, usage of technology, quality of
infrastructure and teaching methods. Respondents rate their higher education less positively in
terms of how it prepared them for the workplace.
§ Three-quarters claim not to have had help from their college in identifying or applying for
suitable job opportunities. The percentage of respondents who claim to have had help is
highest in the GCC region.
§ The most commonly studied subjects include engineering, finance/economics/accounting, and
business/ commerce/ marketing. Interestingly, a third of respondents believe that they would
have fared better in the job market with a different major.

Key findings
§ Banking/ Finance, Business Consultancy/ Business Management/ Management Consulting, and
Engineering/ Design are the most appealing industries for respondents from a career point of
view.
§ The majority considered the availability of jobs in their field before deciding on their major.
Most working respondents claim to be working in their field of study.
§ The most commonly sited reason for not working in their field of study is that it was taking too
long to find a job in their chosen field and they needed to find work to support themselves.
§ Two-thirds believe that their education prepared them to target their industry of choice, at
least to some extent. However, only a sixth state that their education completely prepared
them.
§ The majority of respondents acquired work experience prior to or during college/ university.
Almost two-fifths (of those who had acquired work experience) obtained between 1 to 6
months of experience.

Key findings
§ Almost three-quarters believe that there is low availability of jobs for fresh graduates in their
country of residence. Respondents in the GCC region have a slightly more positive outlook on
the availability of jobs.
§ When finding their first job, the majority used/ plan to use leading online job sites, direct
applications to target companies, their personal network of friends and family members, and
newspaper ads.
§ Lack of previous work experience is the greatest challenge faced by fresh graduates when
searching for a job, followed by knowing where to find relevant jobs or knowing how to
approach the job search effectively.
§ Obtaining experience in the field they want to work in is the most important attribute when
selecting a job for two-fifths of respondents. Working for a well-known organization, clear
career progression and having a high salary are also factors which respondents believe are
important when selecting a job.

Key findings
§ Salary expectations are significantly higher in the GCC region, while expectations in North Africa
are considerably lower. At an overall level, almost a third do not expect to receive more than
USD 500 a month in their first job.
§ Computer skills and academic and technical skills are the top skills selected by respondents
when asked which skills are required to excel in the workplace. Linguistic skills are seen to be
important by more respondents in North Africa.
§ Most respondents would consider relocating to another country for employment purposes. Of
those who would consider relocating, over half state that they would consider the UAE for
employment.

Key findings
§ Finding a job and saving money are the top two challenges faced by this generation of fresh
graduates.
§ On a positive note, most respondents are optimistic that their generation has better career and
educational opportunities as compared to their parents generation.
§ Most respondents plan to pursue further education. The US and the UK emerge as the top two
countries respondents are considering for their further education.
§ 8 in 10 respondents claim to be considering setting up their own businesses in the future. Only
a small minority (2%) already have their own businesses.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Section 2

Sample Definition
All respondents must have completed their most recent educational qualification within the past
three years in order to qualify to take part in the survey.
Age and Gender:
Adult males and females
Age 18+ years
Nationalities:
GCC Arabs, North Africans, Levantines, Western Expats, Asians
Country of Residence
GCC: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain
Levant: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan
North Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia
Data Collection
All data was collected online. Fieldwork was done between 26 May and 26 June 2014. The total
number of successful online interviews achieved was 1,586.

Country in which recent qualification was completed
Q. Where did you complete your most recent education qualification?
All figures are %’s
Base: All respondents (1586)
• A fifth of respondents completed their most recent qualification in Egypt, followed by 1 in 10 who completed their studies in Algeria.
• As can be seen on the following slide, the majority of respondents completed their most recent qualification in their current country
of residence.

Country in which recent qualification was completed
GCC Levant North Africa
KSA UAE Kuwait Qatar Bahrain Oman Lebanon Syria Jordan Egypt Morocco Algeria Tunisia
Base: All respondents 220 215 90 124 28 49 115 22 128 293 79 160 63
Egypt 3 1 14 11 4 - - - - 97 - - -
Algeria - - - - - - - 5 - 0 - 98 -
Jordan 4 4 7 2 4 - - 5 96 - - - -
India 6 19 28 31 4 16 - - - - - - -
Saudi Arabia 56 - - - - 2 - - - - - - -
Lebanon 2 2 4 3 - - 87 - 1 - - - -
United Arab Emirates 2 39 1 - - 4 - - - - 1 - -
Morocco - 1 - 1 - 2 - - - - 98 - -
Tunisia - 1 - 1 - - - - - - - - 100
Syria 3 3 1 2 - 2 9 91 2 0 - - -
Pakistan 4 10 10 7 - - - - - - - - -
Oman - 1 - - - 57 - - - - - - -
United States of America 4 2 6 4 4 - 1 - - 0 - - -
Sudan 7 2 - 2 - 4 - - - 0 - - -
Q. Where did you complete your most recent education qualification?

Subjects/areas studied as part of higher degree
Q. What subject area/s did you study as part of your highest degree?
• The most commonly studied subjects include engineering, finance/economics/accounting, and business/commerce/marketing.
• Agriculture and nutrition/dietetics are significantly less popular subject areas.
• Engineering is a subject that was in the top two studied subjects across all regions.
• Business/commerce/marketing were more popular in the GCC region.
• Language/literature is a subject studied by more respondents residing in North Africa.

Subjects/areas studied as part of higher degree
Engineering 26 25 33 36 11 27 23 36 24 25 11 16 14
Finance / Economics /
Accounting
18 26 29 23 36 22 21 14 28 24 18 21 16
Business / Commerce /
Marketing
17 30 24 23 36 31 25 18 16 17 14 10 22
Information Technology /
Computer Science
26 9 18 11 18 14 10 14 9 12 24 13 24
Sciences (Biology,
Chemistry, Geography,
Mathematics, Statistics,
etc.)
10 5 6 4 7 6 8 18 4 6 18 10 11
Languages / Literature 7 6 3 4 4 2 4 9 6 9 17 7 13
Architecture / Design 4 3 - 7 - 2 13 - 5 3 3 2 2
Humanities / Social
Sciences
2 4 2 3 7 - 3 - 2 4 5 8 2
Medicine / Pharmacy /
Health Sciences
4 3 3 4 - - 4 5 3 1 4 1 10
Media / Journalism /
Communication
3 5 2 2 - 2 5 - 2 2 4 3 5
Nutrition / Dietetics 1 1 - 1 - 2 2 5 2 2 8 1 2
Agriculture - 1 - 1 - - - - 1 3 1 3 2
Other 10 11 10 10 14 10 10 14 9 18 23 28 14
Q. What subject area/s did you study as part of your highest degree?

Satisfaction with quality of higher education
Q. Overall, how satisfied were you with the quality of your higher education?
• Overall most respondents appear to be satisfied (71%) with the quality of higher education they received, although only just over a
quarter (27%) state that they are very satisfied.
• In general respondents in the GCC (76%) and the Levant region (77%) appear to be more satisfied with the quality of their higher
education than those in North Africa (63%).
• Within the GCC region, respondents in KSA appear to be the least satisfied with the quality of higher education they received.

Satisfaction with quality of higher education
Very satisfied 26 40 41 39 50 45 36 9 20 15 19 19 14
Somewhat satisfied 41 42 36 38 32 37 50 59 52 40 57 50 49
Neutral 12 11 14 16 11 14 7 18 10 20 9 12 10
Somewhat dissatisfied 16 6 8 6 7 4 6 14 18 18 14 15 22
Very dissatisfied 5 1 1 2 - - 2 - - 7 1 4 5
Q. Overall, how satisfied were you with the quality of your higher education?

Measuring quality of higher education
Q. How would you rate the quality of your higher education on each of the following aspects?
Base: All respondents(1586)
• The majority of respondents rate the quality of their higher education positively across most attributes.
• Respondents appear particularly impressed with the quality of the qualification of teachers and less satisfied about the usage of
technology for effective teaching and preparation for the workplace.

Preparation for the workplace
Very good 22 17 23 15 54 22 18 14 17 10 11 7 10
Good 28 40 32 46 11 33 36 27 27 25 33 32 40
Neutral 24 25 27 26 25 27 28 23 15 20 28 26 16
Poor 14 14 12 8 7 10 17 23 26 24 19 18 22
Very poor 12 4 6 6 4 8 2 14 15 22 9 17 13
• Across all attributes, respondents in North Africa are the least satisfied.
• Respondents in Egypt rate their higher education particularly poorly in terms of how it prepared them for the workplace.
• Respondents in North Africa are particularly unsatisfied with the usage of technology for effective teaching during their education.

Teaching methods applied
Very good 19 26 22 21 36 25 24 14 15 9 13 8 11
Good 39 44 39 46 36 45 54 46 39 29 39 37 44
Neutral 20 22 31 25 25 18 16 18 23 25 20 28 19
Poor 16 6 4 6 4 10 4 14 17 25 18 19 19
Very poor 6 2 3 2 - 2 2 9 6 13 10 8 6
Quality of infrastructure
Very good 26 28 28 27 50 16 23 9 19 9 10 5 10
Good 31 42 38 36 36 49 41 50 31 26 29 34 41
neutral 25 23 21 27 14 18 30 14 25 30 32 33 21
Poor 12 7 12 8 - 8 4 14 17 21 20 21 24
Very poor 7 1 1 2 - 8 2 14 9 14 9 8 5

KSA UAE Kuwait Qatar Bahrain Oman Lebanon Syria Jordan Egypt Morocco Algeria Tunisi
a
Technology usage for effective teaching
Very good 26 27 31 27 43 27 22 14 14 9 9 7 13
Good 29 41 33 41 32 41 50 23 32 23 30 23 33
Neutral 17 22 20 21 18 18 20 23 16 24 33 31 14
Poor 20 7 9 7 7 10 7 27 27 24 15 23 32
Very poor 8 3 7 3 - 4 2 14 12 20 13 16 8
Value for money paid
Very good 34 20 23 23 36 14 20 18 9 15 8 18 16
Good 31 46 41 44 43 39 43 41 43 29 27 28 30
Neutral 25 21 29 23 21 33 28 18 20 32 46 33 32
Poor 5 8 2 8 - 10 9 14 20 14 15 13 13
Very poor 6 5 4 2 - 4 1 9 8 11 5 9 10

a
Curriculum
Very good 31 27 32 21 46 22 27 14 25 14 6 9 11
Good 40 49 42 54 36 41 44 55 43 37 58 48 51
Neutral 18 18 18 15 18 33 22 18 21 25 19 25 24
Poor 8 7 6 9 - 4 7 9 10 17 13 13 11
Very poor 3 - 2 2 - - 1 5 1 7 4 5 3
Qualification of teachers
Very good 39 36 37 39 46 35 40 14 34 24 22 17 22
Good 35 45 39 41 32 43 48 41 41 39 41 42 44
Neutral 19 17 21 17 18 14 10 23 16 23 18 29 21
Poor 4 2 3 1 4 8 3 14 6 9 15 7 8
Very poor 4 - - 2 - - - 9 4 5 5 5 5

Possibilities with a different major/school
Q. Do you think you would have fared better in the job market with a different major or different school?
• The majority of respondents do not believe that they would have fared better in the job market with a different major or school,
although a third believe that if they had graduated with a different major they would have fared better.
• Similar findings are seen across all three regions.

Possibilities with a different major/school
Yes, with a different
major
32 27 38 40 29 39 29 27 38 35 28 33 27
Yes, from a different
school
16 14 11 15 11 16 18 9 11 15 27 13 8
No, it would not have
made a difference
53 59 51 45 61 45 53 64 51 50 46 54 65
Q. Do you think you would have fared better in the job market with a different major or different school?

Field of study
Q. Did you consider the availability of jobs in your field before deciding your major?
Q. Are you currently employed in your field of study?
• Three-fifths claimed to have considered the availability of jobs in their field before deciding on their major.
• Of respondents who are working, almost three-quarters (73%) are currently working in their field of study, although fewer (54%) are
currently employed full time.
• More respondents in the GCC region (66%) than those in Levant (56%) or North Africa (57%) considered the availability of jobs in
their field before deciding on their major.
• Interestingly, more working respondents in the GCC (63%) than in the Levant (47%) or North Africa (48%) are employed in their field
of study full time.
Base: All respondents (1586) Base: All respondents who are working (649)

Field of study
Did you consider the availability of jobs in your field before deciding your major?
Base: All Respondents 219 215 90 124 28 49 115 22 128 293 79 160 63
Yes 66 61 67 65 68 84 57 41 57 58 49 56 62
No 34 39 33 35 32 16 44 59 43 42 51 44 38
Are you employed in your field of study?
Base: All respondents
who are working
82 81 44 59 14 18 56 6 45 138 29 56 21
Yes, full time 67 59 71 58 57 61 48 33 47 51 45 43 43
Yes, part time 5 6 7 5 7 - 7 17 11 13 14 11 24
Yes, part time but would
prefer full time
4 4 5 10 7 6 9 17 11 11 24 18 14
No 24 31 18 27 29 33 36 33 31 25 17 29 19
Q. Did you consider the availability of jobs in your field before deciding your major?
Q. Are you currently employed in your field of study?

Reasons not employed in field of study
Q. Why are you not employed in your field of study?
• For respondents who are not employed in their field of study, the most common reason is that it was taking too long to find a job in
their chosen field and they needed to find work to support themselves.
• Lack of job openings in the field they studied was a barrier for 36% of respondents.
• Interestingly, 15% state that their school did not adequately prepare them to work in their chosen field.
Base: Employed respondents who are not employed
in their field of study(176)

Appealing industries from a career perspective
Q. Which of the following industries are most appealing to you from a career point of view? (Please select up
to three industries)
• The Banking/Finance industry emerges as the most appealing industry from a career point of view, followed by Business consultancy/
Business Management/ Management Consulting, and Engineering/ Design.
• Domestic Services, Publishing and Merchant Navy are the least appealing industries.
• The retail industry appears to be more popular in North Africa (12%, compared to 8% in Levant and 7% in the GCC).
• Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals is more popular in the GCC (17%) and North Africa (16%) than in the Levant (7%).
• Business Consultancy/ Business Management/ Management Consulting, Business/Finance, and Engineering/ Design are all less
popular in North Africa.

Base: All
respondents
219 215 90 124 28 49 115 22 128 293 79 160 63
Banking / Finance 24 25 36 19 39 27 21 23 28 25 13 11 21
Business consultancy/
Business Management/
Management Consulting
28 22 17 15 43 25 23 18 28 10 10 18 18
Engineering / Design 19 18 26 26 7 16 28 23 24 16 15 13 3
Advertising / Marketing 11 19 14 11 14 12 17 9 20 17 22 14 11
Education / Academia 18 11 16 11 21 16 14 23 13 16 17 18 21
Oil, Gas &
Petrochemicals
15 15 24 22 7 20 5 5 9 18 8 18 14
IT 21 10 13 9 25 18 10 23 13 9 14 9 10
Human Resources 11 12 6 7 7 16 8 5 10 10 6 13 5
Airline 10 13 3 7 18 14 4 5 9 11 13 8 8
Retail 7 7 4 8 - 10 10 9 6 11 14 14 10
Construction/Property
Development
6 8 11 12 - 4 11 5 9 7 3 6 2
Electronics 9 5 8 8 - 4 1 9 9 10 9 9 5
Q. Which of the following industries are most appealing to you from a career point of view? (Please select up to
three industries)

Base: All
respondents
219 215 90 124 28 49 115 22 128 293 79 160 63
Telecommunications 4 7 7 8 7 8 7 23 2 7 9 5 6
Electro mechanical 6 4 2 6 - 10 3 9 3 6 8 9 18
Tourism 3 4 4 3 11 4 4 9 5 10 11 7 10
Automotive 4 7 3 3 - 2 4 - 10 6 5 7 13
Government / Civil
service
10 7 3 7 7 8 8 - 7 2 5 4 -
Healthcare / Medical
services
6 5 7 7 - - 8 9 6 2 5 3 16
Manufacturing 6 4 7 6 - 4 4 14 3 4 8 4 6
Public Relations 2 3 4 7 11 - 6 5 9 5 4 6 5
Water / Electricity /
Power Generation
6 5 3 7 - 2 3 - 4 5 5 8 5
Aerospace / Aviation 5 4 4 5 11 2 3 - 2 6 3 9 2
Charity / voluntary
sector
6 3 - 2 11 6 3 5 7 5 4 5 5
Media / Journalism 2 5 4 7 4 - 9 - 5 2 8 6 3
Consumer Goods /
FMCG
3 8 1 2 - - 5 5 3 3 4 7 3
three industries)

Base: All
Respondents
219 215 90 124 28 49 115 22 128 293 79 160 63
Pharmaceuticals 3 3 4 6 - 8 5 - 5 4 4 2 8
Real Estate 2 3 7 4 7 2 4 - 3 5 - 3 5
Power Generation and
Water Industry
4 4 6 4 - 10 - - 3 3 3 5 -
Hospitality / Recreation
/ Entertainment
1 7 1 1 4 4 6 5 2 2 6 3 5
Military/ Defense/Police 1 3 2 2 4 - 4 - 3 4 8 5 3
Other private sector 3 5 - 3 - 2 4 - 2 3 6 3 6
Law 3 2 2 2 4 - 1 - 2 6 3 4 2
Transport / Travel 3 4 2 3 - 6 3 - 4 2 - 3 2
Agriculture / Forestry - 1 1 - - - 1 - 3 3 3 8 5
Market Research 1 2 7 2 4 - 4 5 1 1 - 3 -
Other public sector 4 - - 2 4 - 1 5 2 1 3 3 5
three industries)

Role of education in preparing for industry of choice
• Two-thirds (66%) of respondents believe that their education prepared them to target their industry of choice, at least to some
extent. However, only 16% state that their education completely prepared them.
• More in the GCC region (74%) than the Levant (65%) and North Africa (58%) believe that their education prepared them to target
their industry of choice.
Q. Did your education prepare you to target your industry of choice?

Role of education in preparing for industry of choice
Yes, completely 20 17 24 19 29 25 17 5 10 7 22 18 16
Yes, to a large extent 20 32 24 23 21 29 23 14 13 21 9 21 19
Yes, but only to some
extent
22 27 34 39 29 25 37 32 34 22 33 28 40
No, hardly 21 16 10 11 14 16 10 32 22 32 24 19 18
No, not at all 11 4 7 3 7 6 9 14 14 17 5 9 5
Don’t know/can’t say 6 4 - 4 - - 4 5 7 2 8 5 3
Q. Did your education prepare you to target your industry of choice?

Fun working
environment (49%)
Location of
office (41%)
Base: All respondents (1,586)
Important attributes when selecting a job
Q. Please rank the following in order of how important they are to you when selecting a job, starting with the
most important attribute.)
Short working
hours (29%)
• The below percentages were calculated by applying weights to the ranked data.
• Getting experience in the field they want to work in emerges as the top factor of importance for
respondents when selecting a job, followed by working for a well-known organization, clear career
progression, and a high salary.

Attributes ranked first when selecting a job
• In terms of what respondents ranked as the most important attribute (% ranked first), experience in the field they want to work in
emerges as the most important factor for two-fifths of respondents.

Attributes ranked first when selecting a job
Experience in the field I
want to work in
33 41 42 42 32 25 43 50 45 40 44 39 41
High salary 17 11 10 14 11 2 12 18 7 11 11 14 8
Well known
organization/company
8 11 18 15 21 16 10 5 10 9 5 5 8
Clear career progression
path
10 10 8 10 4 14 4 5 7 12 8 6 2
International company 10 8 7 10 7 16 7 14 3 10 8 11 13
Comfortable office
environment
7 6 3 3 18 4 10 5 11 8 9 14 6
Good professional
training on offer
5 7 8 4 - 6 7 5 6 3 9 4 10
Fun working
environment
6 1 2 2 - 4 2 - 2 3 6 6 6

Pursued first job through
Q. What avenues did/will you pursue to find your first job?
Base: All respondents (1,586)
• The majority did or plan to use leading online job sites to find their first job (51%), followed by direct application to target companies
(37%) and using their network of family and friends (35%).

Pursued first job through
Leading online job sites 52 51 50 50 43 51 55 59 52 48 54 49 64
Direct applications to
target companies
40 37 39 40 36 39 39 23 28 34 42 36 40
Family and friends
network
36 37 54 47 29 27 40 32 23 38 27 23 32
Newspaper ads 20 25 24 36 21 29 17 18 26 33 14 32 24
Social media sites 18 16 20 19 18 14 18 18 19 24 18 14 22
Physical and virtual
career fairs
17 14 10 12 21 14 11 5 9 8 14 11 6
Alumni network and
university placement
office
11 18 11 7 18 10 8 9 13 7 6 13 22
All of above 31 29 23 23 39 33 24 23 40 28 23 25 18
Q. What avenues did/will you pursue to find your first job?

Challenges faced when searching for a job
Q. When searching for a job, what is/are the greatest challenge/challenges you face?
• Lack of previous work experience appears to be an issue faced by respondents, with 67% specifying the fact that employers look for
candidates with previous work experience as the greatest challenge they face when searching for a job.
• Knowing where to find relevant jobs is a challenge for almost two-fifths (38%) of respondents.

Challenges faced when searching for a job
Employers look for
candidates with previous
work experience
67 70 69 71 71 57 66 68 70 65 67 67 65
Knowing where to find
relevant jobs
43 37 34 29 39 22 41 46 34 38 49 44 30
Knowing how to
approach the job search
effectively
37 31 34 27 32 33 30 36 33 30 32 35 29
Knowing how to develop
good interview skills
23 30 30 32 21 16 32 23 25 31 27 23 25
Knowing how to apply to
relevant jobs
21 25 26 20 18 20 16 23 21 21 20 19 25
Knowing how to compile
a CV
23 17 28 22 21 16 7 32 15 20 17 19 19
Knowing how to write a
cover letter
13 14 19 13 11 4 8 14 14 12 13 12 14
Other 3 4 2 6 - 2 4 - 5 4 5 4 2
Q. When searching for a job, what is/are the greatest challenge/challenges you face?

Time took (or expected to take) to find first job
Q. How long do you think it will take/ did it take you to find your first job?
• About a third of respondents do not have a prediction about how long it will take them to find their first job.

Time took (expected to take) to find first job
Q. How long do you think it will take/ did it take you to find your first job?
I will get a job/I got a job
directly through campus
placements
3 8 8 6 11 6 5 5 1 4 1 3 2
Less than 3 months 16 20 20 15 11 18 23 14 15 15 17 10 11
From 3 to 6 months 20 15 14 18 7 16 16 14 15 15 11 9 13
Between 6 and 12
months
15 17 18 24 18 10 17 5 15 12 15 13 10
More than 12 months 13 16 17 12 39 18 13 18 21 21 17 17 22
Don’t know/can’t say 33 25 23 26 14 31 27 46 34 32 39 49 43

Duration planning to stay for in first job
Q. How long do you see yourself staying in your first job/did you stay in your first job?
• The majority (52%) stayed/plan to stay in their first job for 3 years or less.
• Just under a fifth (19%) state they stayed/ plan to stay in their first job for less than one year.

Duration planning to stay for in first job
Less than one year 16 15 20 23 43 12 16 14 18 22 19 14 24
Between 1 to 2 years 23 24 38 23 11 18 21 5 23 24 14 14 27
Between 2 to 3 years 10 19 8 22 7 10 17 18 9 10 5 4 5
Between 3 to 5 years 9 9 9 8 4 20 10 - 3 3 8 11 3
More than 5 years 7 7 10 6 14 10 5 18 9 10 19 16 8
Q. How long do you see yourself staying in your first job/did you stay in your first job?

First job’s salary received/ would expect to receive
Q. Please indicate the monthly salary you received/ would expect to receive for your first job?
• Almost a third (31%) claim that they would expect to receive less than USD 500 for their first job.
• Salary expectations are significantly more substantial in the GCC region, where the majority (51%) would expect a salary of USD
1,000 or more. Expectations are significantly lower in North Africa where almost half (49%) would expect less than USD 500 and a
quarter would expect less than USD 250 for their first job.

First jobs’ salary received/ would expect to receive
Less than USD 250 4 6 3 6 11 2 1 9 10 33 17 19 14
USD 250 to 500 8 9 13 11 14 10 7 9 44 28 15 18 29
USD 501 to 750 6 8 16 9 14 8 12 14 16 7 20 13 11
USD 751 to 1,000 12 9 8 12 25 14 29 5 12 8 14 4 8
USD 1,001 to 1,500 14 14 22 18 11 20 25 18 9 4 10 4 6
USD 1,501 to 2,000 20 17 19 15 7 12 6 9 2 2 1 4 3
USD 2,001 to USD 3,000 18 18 6 12 11 10 10 9 1 2 1 3 6
More than USD 3,000 9 11 7 10 - 2 3 5 1 1 3 1 2
Q. Please indicate the monthly salary you received/ would expect to receive for your first job?

Identifying job opportunities through college’s assistance
Q. Did your college help you identify or apply for suitable job opportunities?
Q. Please indicate in what ways your college has helped you identify or apply for suitable job opportunities:
Base: All respondents who stated their college
helped them identify or apply for suitable job
opportunities (392)
• Three quarters of respondents state that their college did not help them to identify/apply for job opportunities.
• For those who had help from their college; job announcements, career fairs and help with writing of CV/ Cover letter were the most
common forms of help.
• More respondents in the GCC (30%) than the Levant region (21%) or North Africa (20%) claim to have had help from their college in
identifying/ applying for job opportunities.
Ways in which college helped to identify/apply job opportunities

Identifying job opportunities through college’s assistance
Did your college help to identify find job opportunities
Yes 24 27 43 32 43 31 32 18 12 24 19 15 18
No 76 74 57 68 57 69 68 82 88 76 81 85 83
Ways in which college helped to find job opportunities
who stated their
college helped them
identify/apply for
suitable job
opportunities
52 57 39 40 12 15 37 4 15 71 15 24 11
Job announcements 42 60 49 48 33 47 38 50 33 48 47 29 36
Career fairs 48 60 59 35 58 67 51 - 33 16 33 13 18
Help with writing of CV/
Cover letter
44 44 41 43 33 20 54 - 20 25 33 25 36
Open days (where
companies visit campus)
39 40 33 33 33 27 57 - 33 17 20 33 18
Career placement office 35 44 36 35 25 27 27 - 13 16 13 8 36
Alumni network 19 30 23 25 - 7 16 - 7 11 13 - 9
Other 8 11 13 18 17 13 16 50 33 24 13 38 27
Q. Did your college help you identify or apply for suitable job opportunities?
Q. Please indicate in what ways your college has helped you identify or apply for suitable job opportunities:

Work experience acquired prior to or during college/university
Q. Did you acquire any work experience during or before your time in college/university?
Q. How much work experience did you acquire during or before your time in college/university?
Base: All respondents who acquired work experience
during/before their time in college/university (938)
• Almost three-fifths (59%) acquired work experience prior to or during college/university. Of these respondents, almost two-fifths
(39%) acquired between 1 and 6 months of experience.
• Fewer in North Africa (55%) acquired work experience prior to or during college/ university compared to those in the GCC (62%) or
the Levant region (63%).
Duration of work experience acquired

Work experience acquired prior to or during college/university
Did you acquire any work experience during or before your time in college/university?
Yes 57 68 57 63 64 57 74 59 53 51 65 53 64
No 43 32 43 37 36 43 26 41 47 49 35 48 37
How much work experience did you acquire during or before your time in college/university?
who had acquired
work experience prior
to college/university
125 146 51 79 18 28 85 13 68 150 51 84 40
Less than 1 month 5 6 12 5 - 4 6 - 3 8 10 18 -
1 to 6 months 48 36 39 32 50 64 39 23 44 33 39 33 55
6-12 months 14 19 14 15 11 7 15 8 13 21 26 20 30
12-18 months 9 12 6 9 11 7 8 23 9 14 6 5 3
18-24 months 6 8 8 9 11 11 7 8 3 8 4 11 3
More than 24 months 18 19 22 30 17 7 25 39 28 17 16 13 10
Q. Did you acquire any work experience during or before your time in college/university?
Q. How much work experience did you acquire during or before your time in college/university?

Plans to pursue higher education
Q. Are you planning to pursue higher education?
Q. In which countries would you consider going for further education?
• The majority of respondents (68%) are planning to pursue higher education in the future.
• Of those who plan to pursue higher education; the US and UK emerge as the top two countries respondents would consider to go to
for their studies.
• Respondents in KSA were particularly likely to be considering the US for further education.
Are you planning to pursue higher education?
Base: All respondents who are planning
to pursue higher education (1082)
Considering further education in

Are you planning to pursue higher education?
Yes 71 63 66 65 71 82 64 86 63 66 68 83 64
No 13 19 18 21 11 4 14 9 19 21 19 10 25
Don’t Know/Can’t say 17 18 17 15 18 14 23 5 18 13 13 7 11
In which countries would you consider going for further education?
who are planning to
pursue higher
education
155 136 59 80 20 40 73 19 81 193 54 132 40
US 45 32 48 33 20 20 16 21 40 25 28 31 15
UK 25 24 34 39 35 35 18 21 26 17 15 24 13
Canada 20 15 19 18 10 10 22 26 16 15 37 37 38
Other Western/
European countries
14 16 20 21 15 3 32 32 22 18 28 31 38
Q. Are you planning to pursue higher education?

who are planning to
pursue higher
education
155 136 59 80 20 40 73 19 81 193 54 132 40
UAE 10 47 12 8 10 8 6 16 6 9 26 33 13
Egypt 2 1 12 3 5 - - 5 1 59 4 2 -
Australia 14 15 17 18 - 8 11 5 11 9 7 9 3
Saudi Arabia 30 - 3 1 5 - 4 16 1 2 13 16 5
Qatar 1 2 - 23 5 5 6 11 1 2 9 21 5
Jordan 2 2 7 1 5 3 - 5 48 - 2 5 -
Malaysia 7 3 3 5 - 8 - 26 6 4 2 11 5
Algeria - - - 1 - - - 5 - - - 42 -
Don’t Know/Can’t say 9 9 7 8 5 15 6 5 7 7 7 5 8

Relocation for employment purposes
Q. Would you consider relocating for employment purposes?
Q. In which countries would you consider relocating to for employment purposes?
• Most respondents (65%) would consider relocating for employment purposes.
• The most popular countries for relocation include the UAE (54%) and Qatar (39%).
• Outside of the MENA region, the US (31%) and Canada (29%) are the most appealing countries for relocation for employment
purposes.
Would you consider relocating for employment
purposes?
Base: All respondents who will consider
relocating for employment purposes (1038)
Consider relocating in

Base: All 219 215 90 124 28 49 115 22 128 293 79 160 63
Would you consider relocating for employment purposes?
Yes 55 58 72 75 54 76 67 50 65 69 70 73 56
No 14 14 10 11 14 6 10 9 8 11 6 6 8
Don’t Know/ Can’t say 31 27 18 15 32 18 24 41 27 20 24 21 37
Q. Would you consider relocating for employment purposes?

Base: All
respondents who would
consider relocating
122 125 65 93 15 37 77 11 83 203 55 117 35
UAE 55 - 57 52 53 65 69 82 68 60 67 68 46
Qatar 35 30 40 - 33 32 64 46 51 36 56 58 51
US 30 37 45 26 27 11 31 18 35 26 46 33 29
Saudi Arabia - 18 23 25 20 5 35 55 51 43 40 42 26
Canada 20 30 35 27 20 24 31 27 24 18 47 49 31
Kuwait 21 14 - 23 47 8 33 27 36 50 27 23 26
UK 21 30 37 31 33 24 26 27 19 19 26 24 20
Other Western/
European countries
15 25 31 20 7 8 27 27 27 17 27 27 37
Australia 21 22 29 26 13 8 25 18 17 16 24 16 17
Bahrain 25 10 22 17 - 11 17 18 23 11 13 12 9
Oman 9 14 20 18 7 - 12 9 11 7 4 7 17
Malaysia 10 14 11 17 - 5 4 9 7 4 4 16 11
Singapore 8 21 14 18 13 8 5 - 5 4 7 6 11
New Zealand 12 15 15 15 20 5 12 - 5 4 6 5 9
Q. In which countries would you consider relocating to for employment purposes?

Challenges faced by fresh graduates
Q. What challenges does your generation of fresh graduates face most? Select up to three.
• When asked what challenges their generation of fresh graduates face most, finding a job is selected by over three-quarters of
respondents (79%).
• Saving money is seen to be a challenge by 45% of respondents and being able to financially afford a basic lifestyle is an issue for a
third of respondents.
• Saving money is selected as a challenge by significantly more respondents in North Africa (55%) than in the Levant region (49%) or
the GCC (35%).
• On the other hand, more in the Levant (45%) select being able to financially afford a basic lifestyle as a challenge than those in North
Africa (32%) or the GCC (30%).

Challenges faced by fresh graduates
Finding a job 78 81 76 70 93 78 81 64 87 82 72 78 91
Saving money 43 31 33 28 36 37 43 36 57 55 44 56 65
Being able to financially
afford a basic lifestyle
30 32 27 29 43 31 46 32 47 33 29 28 41
Discovering what we
want to do in life
24 26 30 27 29 27 26 41 17 24 25 20 16
Acquiring skills relevant
to the workplace
27 22 19 26 4 33 16 18 20 24 18 18 14
Succeeding at work with
our skill set
16 22 18 27 18 20 17 32 12 19 24 24 25
Finding time to have a
good social life
11 13 16 12 11 6 9 5 11 16 9 9 13
Meeting new people/
making new friends
13 15 19 18 7 14 10 23 9 7 11 16 -
Access to adequate
local/regional further
education
16 10 9 9 14 16 10 14 6 6 8 14 6
Staying mentally healthy 9 9 4 13 7 6 6 9 10 10 22 6 3
Finding time for family
and friends
8 7 11 9 4 - 12 9 5 9 8 4 3
Staying physically healthy 5 7 11 7 7 10 4 5 2 8 6 6 10
Other 4 3 4 1 4 2 2 - 1 1 6 3 2
Q. What challenges does your generation of fresh graduates face most? Select up to three.

Availability of jobs in country of residence
Q. How would you rate the availability of jobs in your country of residence for fresh graduates?
• Generally speaking, respondents have a negative perception of the availability of jobs for fresh graduates in their country of
residence, with 73% claiming that there is low availability.
• Only 4% believe there is high availability of jobs for fresh graduates in their country of residence.
• Respondents in the GCC region have a more positive impression of the availability of fresh graduate positions than those in the
Levant or North Africa. 63% in the GCC state that there is low availability of fresh graduate jobs, compared to 84% in Levant and 80%
in North Africa.

Availability of jobs in country of residence
High availability 8 6 8 7 4 6 - 5 - 2 3 2 -
Moderate availability 24 20 17 29 14 31 13 14 6 11 11 13 6
Low availability 60 67 68 57 75 57 83 82 85 81 79 78 87
Don’t know/ Can’t say 9 7 8 7 7 6 4 - 9 6 8 8 6
Q. How would you rate the availability of jobs in your country of residence for fresh graduates?

Optimism about career/educational opportunities
Q. How optimistic are you about career and educational opportunities for your generation as compared to
your parents’ generation?
• On a positive note, the majority (54%) of respondents are optimistic about the career and educational opportunities for their
generation as compared to their parents’ generation.
• Significantly more respondents in the GCC (31%) than the Levant (15%) and North Africa (16%) state that they are very optimistic
that their generation has better opportunities.

Optimism about career/educational opportunities
I am very optimistic that
our generation has
better opportunities
25 32 32 40 21 45 19 23 9 14 18 19 14
I am somewhat
optimistic that our
generation has better
opportunities
36 31 30 32 18 31 34 14 27 30 28 29 32
I am not so optimistic
that our generation has
21 24 19 19 43 12 34 41 40 31 37 27 27
I am not at all optimistic
that our generation has
14 9 13 8 14 12 10 14 20 21 9 18 21
Don’t know/can’t say 5 5 6 2 4 - 4 9 4 4 9 8 6
Q. How optimistic are you about career and educational opportunities for your generation as compared to
your parents’ generation?

Skills required to excel in the workplace
Q. Which of the following skills do you believe are required to excel in the workplace? (Please select up to three most
important skills)
• Respondents were asked which skills they believe are required to excel in the workplace. Computer skills and academic and technical
skills emerge as the top two skills in terms of importance.
• More respondents in North Africa (50%) select linguistic skills as being important than those in the Levant region (31%) or the GCC
(29%).

Skills required to excel in the workplace
Computer skills 62 45 49 51 54 39 38 36 56 63 27 31 18
Academic and technical
skills (i.e. skills obtained
during studies)
44 44 42 51 43 41 31 18 41 33 44 47 44
Linguistic skills (specific
to my country of
residence)
41 23 27 19 46 18 24 59 34 52 42 52 49
Communication skills 31 49 53 41 25 45 49 41 32 25 44 23 37
Interpersonal/team
playing skills
26 32 32 32 14 31 33 32 34 30 46 34 37
Flexibility / Adaptability
to change
26 28 26 34 36 25 37 36 23 32 30 27 35
Analytical/problem-
solving skills
22 28 26 23 25 41 36 36 20 22 28 25 25
Leadership skills 19 19 20 21 11 37 16 18 23 16 5 19 18
Negotiation skills 8 8 4 7 - 8 16 9 6 7 13 8 8
Other 2 4 1 2 - - 4 - 8 1 1 3 3
None of the above 1 1 - - 4 - 2 - 2 1 - 4 3
Q. Which of the following skills do you believe are required to excel in the workplace? (Please select up to three most
important skills)

Personal skills assessment
Q. And how would you rate yourself in terms of the following skills?
Base: All (1586)
• In terms of their own personal skills, respondents rate themselves highly across all skills.
• Respondents are less confident about their negotiation skills and leadership skills.

Negotiation skills
Very good 33 24 21 23 36 18 35 32 38 26 19 19 25
Good 46 58 58 65 46 61 52 46 51 54 56 63 59
Poor 18 17 18 12 14 18 13 23 11 18 24 18 16
Very poor 3 1 3 1 4 2 - - - 2 1 - -

Leadership skills
Very good 47 37 38 37 54 33 36 32 53 33 24 23 19
Good 42 54 47 52 43 59 58 64 41 51 56 64 68
Poor 10 8 13 11 - 8 6 5 6 15 19 13 11
Very poor 1 1 2 - 4 - - - - 1 1 1 2
Linguistic skills (specific to my country of residence)
Very good 54 35 36 32 43 35 44 27 51 33 25 26 30
Good 36 54 48 58 46 51 52 73 45 59 58 54 62
Poor 11 10 13 10 4 12 4 - 5 7 17 18 8
Very poor 1 1 3 - 7 2 1 - - 1 - 2 -

a
Analytical/problem-solving skills
Very good 45 45 31 34 46 25 43 41 48 37 32 26 24
Good 46 49 62 56 46 71 54 50 48 55 60 63 68
Poor 9 5 7 11 4 4 4 9 4 7 8 11 8
Very poor 1 1 - - 4 - - - - 1 1 1 -
Academic and technical skills (i.e. skills obtained during studies)
Very good 46 47 37 38 57 39 53 36 49 30 24 19 29
Good 47 50 57 58 36 61 45 55 48 58 65 74 65
Poor 6 3 4 4 - - 2 5 3 10 10 6 5
Very poor 1 1 2 - 7 - - 5 - 2 1 1 2

a
Communication skills
Very good 58 54 50 52 46 47 48 46 60 43 27 32 41
Good 37 44 44 46 50 49 48 46 38 49 66 61 56
Poor 5 2 4 2 - 4 4 5 2 8 6 8 3
Very poor 1 1 1 - 4 - - 5 - 1 1 - -
Computer skills
Very good 64 44 59 51 57 51 52 59 65 45 27 29 25
Good 34 51 39 47 36 45 44 36 34 52 62 60 57
Poor 2 4 2 2 4 4 4 5 - 2 11 10 14
Very poor 1 1 - - 4 - - - 2 1 - 1 3

KSA UAE Kuwait Qatar Bahrain Oman Lebanon Syria Jordan Egypt Morocco Algeria
Tunisi
a
Interpersonal/team playing skills
Very good 63 54 48 41 57 47 45 55 71 49 39 39 46
Good 32 43 46 57 36 49 50 46 26 45 51 56 51
Poor 4 3 3 1 4 4 4 - 2 6 8 4 3
Very poor 1 1 3 1 4 - - - 2 0 3 1 -
Flexibility/Adaptability to change
Very good 59 57 57 48 57 49 49 55 60 50 35 39 51
Good 35 37 31 48 32 43 47 32 37 43 58 52 44
Poor 5 6 9 4 7 6 4 14 3 5 5 9 5
Very poor 1 1 3 1 4 2 - - - 2 1 - -

Setting up business in future
Q. Would you consider setting up your own businesses in the future?
• The majority of respondents are considering setting up their own businesses in the future.
• Only 2% already have their own business.
• More fresh graduates in North Africa (49%) claim to be actively considering setting up their own business, compared to 38% in the
GCC and 37% in the Levant region.
Would you consider setting up your own
business in the future

Setting up business in future
Yes, I am actively
considering it
47 30 37 38 21 37 35 36 40 47 35 61 43
Yes, I may consider it 35 43 47 29 46 43 43 32 48 36 44 26 44
No 11 15 9 17 14 14 7 9 8 7 6 4 5
I already have my own
business
3 1 1 3 7 - 2 9 - 3 1 4 -
Q. Would you consider setting up your own businesses in the future?

Demographics
Age
•18-29 –52%
•30-39 – 40%
•40+ – 8%
Marital Status
•Single – %
•Married – %
•Separated/ divorced – %
Region
•GCC – 46%
•Levant – 17%
•North Africa – 38%
Base: Total (1586)
• A total sample of 1,586 respondents was achieved.

Demographics
Unemployed: 1126
Experienced
professional looking
for a job – 41%
Fresh college/school
graduate looking for a job
– 59%
• Half of respondents are currently unemployed.
• For 8 in 10, the highest level of education attained is a Bachelors/ Diploma degree.
Base: Total (1586)

The Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa Survey

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The Bayt.com Fresh Graduates in the Middle East and North Africa Survey