Empowering the GCC digital workforce

Building adaptable skills in the digital era

Strategy& is part of the PwC network

Ideation Center insight

To achieve their ambitious national plans such as Saudi Vision 2030 and Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)1 countries must increase efficiency in every sector. Digitization, enabled by a skilled and adaptable digital workforce, is a key component of this endeavor. However, an analysis by Strategy& together with LinkedIn revealed fundamental supply and demand issues in the GCC’s current digital job market that urgently need to be addressed before the benefits of digitization can be attained.

To boost their digital job market, GCC governments should partner with technology players, educational institutions, and corporations to launch initiatives that stimulate demand for digital professionals and secure a reliable local supply.

1 The GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

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Digital industries can create much needed, high-value-added jobs

GCC countries need to generate more digital jobs1 because these tend to be sustainable, provide opportunities for self-employment, and give GCC organizations the home-grown skills they need for ICT transformation.

There are currently fewer digital jobs in the GCC than in countries benchmarked in the analysis by Strategy& together with LinkedIn. The ratio

of digital jobs to the total workforce is 1.7 percent in the GCC compared to 5.4 percent in the EU.

Expatriates currently hold most digital jobs in the GCC. Nationals prefer more traditional career options such as in business, economics, and the public sector — areas that are at high risk of disruption.

Digital jobs as a percentage of the total workforce (2015)

Note: Bahrain figure is for 2013.

Source: Kingdom of Bahrain Central Informatics Organisation; Dubai Statistics Center; Kuwait Central Statistical Bureau; General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia; National Center for Statistics and Information in Oman; World Bank, World Development Indicators; Eurostat; Strategy& analysis

1 Digital jobs refer here to roles in the production, distribution, implementation, or servicing of information and communications technologies (ICT). They include all such roles across sectors that are transforming business models using new technologies.

0.6

Kuwait

1.4

Bahrain

1.4

Oman

5.4

EU average

1.5

Saudi Arabia

2.9

UAE

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Benefits of creating digital jobs in the GCC

Digital jobs possess significant advantages over traditional employment

Digital jobs are better able to adjust to new technological demands than many other jobs. The growth of such jobs will help nationals move from largely administrative jobs in the government sector to higher-value-added roles in industries with future importance. With the right measures, the GCC can create 1.3 million digital jobs by 2025, of which 700,000 would be in Saudi Arabia.

Digital employment involves more flexible work models that can increase labor force participation rates. Based on data from 2015, Strategy& has

estimated that 3.9 million inactive women and youth in the GCC could benefit from such opportunities by becoming self-employed in posts that are digital in nature or involve knowledge of digital technology.

Finally, digital jobs are critical in the implementation of GCC economies’ ambitious national digitization plans, as the success of these plans relies on a knowledgeable and skilled workforce.

Better able to adjustto technological disruption

Offer self-employmentopportunities

Enable GCC nations’digitization aspirations

digital jobsby 2025

1.3 million

Source: Strategy&

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The availability of required digital skills is limited in the region

Digital professionals in the GCC do not yet have the advanced technical skills that are necessary in the digital age. Their skills are mainly soft and managerial (such as project management and team leadership), whereas advanced technical skills are more prevalent in other regions.

The analysis by Strategy& together with LinkedIn also showed that those skills most highly prized by employers — across all industries and all types of jobs — are virtually absent among GCC digital professionals.

Digital skills listed on LinkedIn profiles by GCC professionals do not match the skills in demand across sectors

Top available skills of GCC digital professionals

1 Management

2 Team management

3 Project management

4 Microsoft Office

5 Team leadership

Digital skills most in demandacross sectors

1 Statistical analysis and data mining

2 Algorithm design

3 Web architecture and development framework

4 SEO/SEM marketing

5 Middleware and integration of software

Note: Top available skills are from 2017, digital skills most in demand across sectors are from the UAE in 2016.

Source: Analysis by Strategy& together with LinkedIn

GCC digital professionals’ skills tend to be mainly soft and managerial. Digital professionals often lack the advanced technical skills necessary for the digital age. Ali Matar, director of the Middle East & North Africa region, LinkedIn

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Supply-side challenges

There is an insufficient regional supply of digital professionals

There are three root causes for the skills gap between GCC digital professionals and those in comparable countries:

1) Limited academic preparation for digital skills: There is slow adoption of advanced ICT courses in the education system, a lack of skilled instructors to provide these advanced courses, and limited focus on developing the technical and vocational education and training sector in the region.

2) Inadequate professional development environment: GCC digital professionals have skills that do not meet quality standards

required by the global digital job market. Equally, employers do not offer internships/apprenticeship programs for graduates and do not have on-the-job training to ensure continuing skills upgrade and enhancement among current employees in the field.

3) Limited interest in pursuing digital careers: GCC students prefer mainstream majors (business and economics) and stable public-sector employment. There is also generally low interest in digital careers, especially among women.

Limited academic

preparation for digital

skills

Inadequate professional development environment

Limited interest in pursuing

digital careers

Supply

Source: Strategy&

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Demand for digital professionals is hampered by low ICT uptake

Across sectors in the region, there is limited adoption of emerging digital technologies due to insufficient understanding of digitization and lack of strategic direction to lead transformation.

Within the digital industry, there is inefficient spending across the value chain because companies primarily engage in sales operations and the provision of services rather than in creating value through research and development.

The entrepreneurship ecosystem is underdeveloped due to inadequate regulatory and legal frameworks such as access to finance, registration, and licensing. There is also insufficient entrepreneurship education and limited investment in research and development. This results in having few of these startups at the forefront of innovation.

Demand-side challenges

Source: Strategy&

Low digitization

across sectors

Weak digital

industry

Underdevel-oped entre-preneurship ecosystem

Demand

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Proposed initiatives

Initiatives can have a lasting impact

GCC countries must address immediate needs in their digital market ecosystem by boosting both supply and demand.

Strategy& together with LinkedIn examined initiatives in different countries around the world and designed a comprehensive framework that integrates all the initiatives that best address the GCC’s current challenges.

GCC governments can lead by example through championing the digitization of public institutions. They can achieve this through promoting digital jobs within the public sector

and setting out an accelerated digital career path in government with competitive compensation schemes.

GCC governments need to be flexible and stay up to date with the latest technological developments, accounting for them across all initiatives aimed at educational institutions, professional workplaces, and individuals. GCC governments will have to instill a culture of lifelong learning, and encourage professionals to continuously update their skills, to ensure their capabilities remain relevant in a market prone to disruption.

Build digital capabilities within academia

1

Prepare digital professionals for digitization

2

Increase interest in digital-related fields

3

Boost supply

Increase digitization across sectors

1

Develop the digital industry

2

Boost digital entrepreneurship

3

Create demand

Developed digital job market

Source: Strategy&

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Governments must initiate digital job schemes and implement them through multi-stakeholder partnerships

GCC governments should partner with technology players, educational institutions, and the corporate sector to boost supply and create demand in the digital job market. Although governments have to start these initiatives, they can succeed only by building partnerships with other stakeholders. It is

important to note that every initiative needs to have a clear governance model to properly allocate the roles and responsibilities among the different stakeholders and ensure its successful implementation, avoiding inefficiencies and overlap.

Global initiatives with multi-stakeholder partnerships

Governments must take an adaptive approach in boosting their digital job market, continuously accounting for the latest technological developments. They should also promote a culture of lifelong learning among their citizens. Samer Bohsali, partner, Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network

Governmententities

Privatesector

Educationplayers

Technologyplayers

Source: Strategy&

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About the authors

Samer Bohsali Samer Bohsali is a partner with Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network. He is based in Dubai and leads the digital business and technology practice and the digitization platform in the Middle East. He also serves on the leadership team of the firm’s global digital services community. He specializes in large-scale digital transformation programs, with a special focus on defining national agendas and reviewing sectoral models as well as key national enablers.

Sevag Papazian Sevag Papazian is a principal with Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network. He is based in Dubai and is a senior member of the digital business and technology practice in the Middle East, with more than13 years of experience in technology and consulting. He specializes in national digitization strate-gies, corporate digital strategies, and large-scale technology-enabled business transformations.

Melissa Rizk Melissa Rizk is a fellow with the Ideation Center, the leading think tank for Strategy& Middle East. She has worked on thought leadership projects with an emphasis on digital transformation in the GCC. Her previous experience was as an associate within Strategy& Middle East’s public sector practice.

Ali Matar

Ali Matar is the director of the Middle East and North Africa region at LinkedIn. Based in Dubai, he is responsible for the overall growth of LinkedIn enterprise solutions across the region, and for strength-ening LinkedIn’s brand and presence among various stakeholders. He was recently recognized as one of the top 100 Middle East–based regional heads of multinational companies by Forbes Middle East.

Contacts

Strategy&

LinkedIn

Rawia Abdel Samad and Alice Klat of Strategy& Middle East, and Shady ElAsra, Leena Abdullah, and Jelle Linsenn of LinkedIn, also contributed to this report.

LinkedInStrategy&

Abu Dhabi

Sevag PapazianPrincipal, Strategy& Middle East+971-2-699-2400sevag.papazian @strategyand.ae.pwc.com

Beirut

Melissa RizkFellow, Ideation Center, Strategy& Middle East+961-1-985-655melissa.rizk @strategyand.ae.pwc.com

Dubai

Samer BohsaliPartner, Strategy& Middle East+971-4-436-3000samer.bohsali@strategyand.ae.pwc.com

Dubai

Ali MatarDirector, Middle East and North Africa +971-4-270-9000amatar @linkedin.com

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The Ideation Center is the leading think tank for Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network. We aim to promote sustainable growth in the region by helping leaders across sectors translate socioeconomic trends into actions and better business decisions. Combining innovative research, analysis, and dialogue with hands-on expertise from the professional community in the private and public sectors, the Ideation Center delivers impactful ideas through our publications, website, and forums. The end result is one that inspires, enriches, and rewards. The Ideation Center upholds Strategy&’s mission to develop practical strategies and turn ideas into action. At the Ideation Center, we enjoy the full support of all practices in the Middle East. Together we bring unsurpassed commitment to the goal of advancing the interests of the Middle East region. Find out more by visiting www.ideationcenter.com.

LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the ways companies hire, market, and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 500 million members and has offices around the world.

About the Ideation Center

About LinkedIn

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© 2017 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. Mentions of Strategy& refer to the global team of practical strategists that is integrated within the PwC network of firms. For more about Strategy&, see www.strategyand.pwc.com.No reproduction is permitted in whole or part without written permission of PwC. Disclaimer: This content is for general purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.

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