RELATED ARTICLES: Implementation of Abu Dhabi International Building Code to improve standards | Draft law allows full ownership of firms | GCC construction insurance sector to surge Dubai and Abu Dhabi are now the favourite destinations for construction professionals, a survey by the job portal www.careerstructure.com has found. The UAE has been rated as the most popular work destination for professionals in the world, the survey said, while the Middle East got a 51% majority in total. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the favourite destinations for construction professionals. With the project pipeline in both cities continuing to grow, this trend shows no sign of slowing down, the survey said. 95% of all residents in Dubai alone are expats. “Creating thousands of jobs for construction workers, the UAE offers some of the most exciting, unique and challenging career opportunities in the world,” the job portal said on its website. With new projects being announced and financial institutions investing in infrastructure at levels last seen in 2008, the UAE’s building boom is set to have a positive impact on employment levels within the construction sector, as well as the industries that supply it. “As borrowing costs fall and international liquidity rushes back, Dubai in particular has witnessed the revival of development projects that were shelved during the financial crisis such as the expansion of the Business Bay Canal,” said Trefor Murphy, managing director, Morgan McKinley UAE, in a report by Emirates 24/7. “In fact, last year the UAE ousted Saudi Arabia as the biggest construction market in the Gulf with $16.2bn worth of contracts awarded in 2012, 4 per cent more than the oil-rich kingdom. This has created demand for architects, surveyors, civil engineers and project managers. And as demand for both commercial and domestic property continues to climb, I don’t anticipate this trend reversing.” Furthermore, salaries are going up, the recruitment firm, Hays, said. The average salary of a project director in the UAE is AED60, 000 a month. A senior project manager gets AED50, 000, while a project manager gets AED35, 000. A construction director gets AED 60, 000, while a construction manager gets an average salary of AED45, 000 per month.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi top destination for construction professionals
