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Dubai / Emirates Business
Businesses across the UAE are scrambling to hire new talent for their rapidly changing IT needs, brought about by the consumer shift to mobile, evolving web technologies and increasing cyber threats, according to a study of the UAE’s IT job market just released by GulfTalent, one of the largest online recruitment portals in the Middle East.
The study analysed the data of over 85,000 IT professionals contacted by employers and recruitment agencies in the UAE on the popular GulfTalent.com website over a 5-year period to 2017. It assessed the volume of demand for each skillset as a share of total IT demand. GulfTalent analysts also interviewed a number of IT professionals as well as employers actively hiring for IT roles.
According to findings of the study, demand for Information Security professionals has surged over the period, from 4% of all searches in 2012 to 9% in 2017. Network Engineers saw a similar rise in demand, from 6% of searches to 13%. The increased demand for cyber-security professionals is largely in response to the rise in security breaches and cyber-attacks. In 2015 alone, one third of all UAE firms were hit by data breaches, according to a survey conducted by KPMG.
Regulations issued by the UAE government have increased the demand for cyber-security expertise. In particular, the National Electronic Security Authority (NESA) obliges companies holding sensitive data and systems, such as firms in banking and aviation, to put stringent security measures in place.