Hiring for oil and gas jobs in the United Arab Emirates decreased in the second half of 2014 according to a recent survey by Reach Employment, The National has reported.
New hires in HR and general administration roles dropped by 30% in the last six months, estimates from the survey showed.
Recruiting for onsite engineering and management positions “also softened” but not as dramatically – by just 5%.
“In the last six months, with the reduction in oil prices and revenues and the headwinds the sector has faced, we estimate that hiring for non-critical roles is down by about 30 per cent,” Andrew Croft, Reach Employment’s deputy chief executive, told The National.
“The “non-critical” roles would include head office support jobs, such as human resources and general administration.
“The market for “mission critical” jobs, such as onsite health and safety managers, engineers, project managers and drilling operators, has also softened, but only by about 5%,” he explained.
Another important issue in the region’s oil and gas sector is low retention levels, which some experts believe is in part due to the underutilisation of End of Survice Benefits (EoSB).
A recent survey by SEI Investments showed that just 7% of oil and gas respondents used EoSB as a retention tool.
While few indications point to a serious squeeze on hiring in oil and gas over the upcoming months, a number of key industry players have already pledged to optimise their resources and reduce cost in response to the falling oil price.
