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A report based on findings by the Workforce Planning Study, commissioned by Dubai International Academic City, has found that Dubai’s construction and real estate sectors face a combined manpower shortfall of up to 500,000 heading into 2015.
Conducted by Deloitte, the Study surveyed 2,400 students across 17 markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia regions across various companies.
43% of the surveyed companies claim senior levels lack project management skills, with 54% of the respondent companies stating mid-level professionals lack design engineering and civil engineering skills. Entry level employees are found to lack health and safety skills.
“The growth in the property and construction sectors is driven by strong economic and demographic fundamentals, and robust government spending,” said Dr Ayoub Kazim, managing director of DIAC and Dubai Knowledge Village. “Yet, high attrition rates among expatriate labour force and lack of skilled labour are causing an increased labour cost, which amounts to up to 25% of construction costs.
“Furthermore, new green building standards have been developed in the GCC, focused on increasing energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The continued growth of the construction industry will depend on its ability to address skill gaps and invest in new talent required to support technological developments,” Kazim added.
Besides an increased need for HVAC, plumbing and electrical engineering, property market variables, such as project financing, property appraisal, real estate evaluation and brokerage were also identified as key skills in demand.