Stop printing those CV's: UAE comes 5th in the world in online hiring spending

The UAE ranked as the fifth highest country in terms of online talent hiring spend while the total online hiring spend for businesses globally reached a record Dh3.5 billion ($952 million) in 2014, a report said.

The most hired-for category was technology, counting for 74 per cent of businesses spend, added the 2014 Global Online Work Report by Elance-oDesk, the world’s largest online workplace.

Elance-oDesk examined hiring data from its database and found that a total of 12,000 new UAE companies registered in 2014, which was a 15 per cent year over year increase. Findings also demonstrated that UAE companies spent a total of Dh89.9 million ($24.4 million) tapping into Elance-oDesk’s global talent pool in 2014.

According to the report, a total of 22 thousand new UAE jobs were posted on the website last year, representing a 16 per cent increase in demand for freelance talent since 2013, and significant increase in online hiring in the region.

As the talent gap grows, businesses of all sizes are seeking actionable solutions for closing it. With technology and digital connectivity now reducing geographical borders and distances, more and more businesses in the UAE are going online to find skilled talent.

To address the growing talent gap, Elance-oDesk allows innovative global enterprises, small businesses, and start-ups based in the UAE and around the globe to virtually connect with the world’s most talented developers, designers, writers, marketers, support representatives and administrative staff, regardless of which continent they’re based.

The UAE will now be home to a permanent ground force team headed by Elance-oDesk country manager Muhammad Osman Khan, who said the results of the report highlighted the fact the UAE was at the forefront of adapting to innovation.

“Talent like software, communications and so many other industries are moving to the cloud. Businesses are increasingly looking to engage globally distributed teams as part of their strategy, and are being empowered to find the best talent available as demand arises,” Khan said.

“We enable our clients to hire for the skills they need, when they need them, and free professionals from the traditional set time and place of work.

“With 60 per cent of the UAE economy made up of SMEs and with a rapidly expanding pool of entrepreneurs, tech and start-up companies in region, a growing number of businesses in the UAE will benefit immensely from the access to global talent garnered by Elance-oDesk. We are looking at a future where companies from the UAE will be innovating for consumer demands globally; one of the reasons for this will be access to the right talent at the right time.”

What is next?

There are many benefits of online work for businesses, but the most profound advantage is the boundaryless access it provides to the best global talent across a plethora of skills.

Further, companies are granted the flexibility to engage hybrid teams for concrete projects on an “on-demand” basis. While in the traditional labour market it can take months to fill a job, on Elance-oDesk the average time to hire a skilled professional is three days, with 25 per cent of all jobs filled within 24 hours.

Globally, 2.8 million jobs were posted on Elance-oDesk last year, with freelancer earnings reaching a total of Dh3.5 billion across 2,700 skill categories. These figures signal a dramatic shift towards a hybrid global workforce, where the world’s best talent will collaborate virtually on a local scale with local businesses.

By the end of 2014, Elance-oDesk’s community crossed the 13.5 million mark (with 3.8 million businesses and 9.7 million freelancers)