According to a recent survey, most firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other areas of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region anticipate filling employment needs through internship programmes in 2023 to reduce costs and find fresh talent.
According to a report by Bayt.com that surveyed more than 2,400 people in the MENA region, 78% of businesses plan to hire interns this year.
Businesses consider employing interns as a cost-saving measure, along with filling temporary roles and finding qualified candidates for open positions in the future. Interns are in hot demand in sectors like graphic design, banking, accountancy, and digital marketing.
Bayt.com did its online polling between January 6 and February 3, 2023. According to the report, internships are typically seen as a way for recent graduates/job seekers to expand their skill sets and obtain work experience.
Around 92% of those surveyed agreed that internships improve graduates’ chances of finding employment.
Almost seven out of ten (65%) MENA organisations always claimed to give full-time jobs to interns, while 19% claimed that this is only occasionally the case.
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com, stated that students receive practical experience of the professional world through internships by carrying out tasks and obligations typically performed by full-time industry professionals.
“Our latest survey shows that employers can also benefit from interns in a number of ways, from accessing new talent and skills to increasing productivity… Data [also] reveals that internships can serve as a bridge between educational institutions and employers,” the official stated further.
Customer service firms are the most likely to hire interns (24%), followed by firms in digital marketing (22%), HR and recruiting (21%), information technology (17%), accounting, banking, and finance (10%), and graphic design (8%).
While selecting interns, employers prioritised communication and teamwork abilities (61%), followed by creativity (16%), research and analytical skills (13%) and time management (10%).
The majority of the surveyed businesses (70%) claimed that internships helped them to find talent for open positions.
Employers can also get extra help for small teams or departments (9%), swiftly fill seasonal and temporary positions (11%), and finish less-demanding tasks at a lower cost (11%) by using internships.
According to US research published in May 2022, more companies are considering hiring interns to generate gains.
Companies anticipated increasing their hiring of interns by 22.6%, according to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), which links over 13,000 college career service professionals, university relations and recruiting experts, and industry solution suppliers.