India source of top business talent

The subcontinent has for years been a happy hunting ground for construction companies seeking workforces in the UAE. Now, management and executive posts are being filled by skilled staff from the country.

Ashish Panjabi, the chief operating officer of Jacky's Electronics, which recruits in India to access 'good-quality and qualified talent'. Amy Leang / The National
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Siddharth Mishra is scouting for job opportunities in the UAE.

As a retail buying and merchandising manager in India, Mr Mishra, 31, from Mumbai, is eager to find a senior position in a Dubai company as he aims to gain international experience and an attractive tax-free salary.

"Dubai seems to be an interesting place to work," he says. "And also it gives the opportunity for individuals to start getting some international exposure."

The UAE has long recruited armies of workers from India for construction and contracting jobs but now Indians are starting to form even stronger presences in companies in the Emirates.

"That's a growing trend," says Uday Sodhi, the chief executive of HeadHonchos.com, a job search website in India exclusively targeted at senior professionals. "We see that growth even more in the last couple of years."

Jobs offered through HeadHonchos carry salaries that range from about US$45,000 (Dh165,285) to more than $200,000.

"What you find is that a lot of companies in the Middle East are now not just construction companies, they are also into fields such as 'new-age' industries or the services sector," says Mr Sodhi. New age refers to sectors including technology and telecommunications, particularly software and internet services.

The website handles a number of jobs in the engineering and energy sectors. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah where the vast majority of these positions are located.

"They're looking for people with that talent from India because India has a significantly large and deep services and new-age industry talent base," says Mr Sodhi. "They look for people with skills and the right education mix, so they can use that to scale their businesses in that market."

He believes Indian managers are also becoming a lot more adventurous with the Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong and Africa popular destinations.

The feedback from recruiters has been positive.

"The experience, which we hear from lots of recruiters, is that the talent that comes from India is more hard-working," says Mr Sodhi.

"Also, given that the UAE and a lot of the Middle East have a large expat population that comes from the subcontinent, India is an ideal recruiting ground."

Ashish Panjabi is the chief operating officer of Jacky's Electronics, one of the biggest retailers in the UAE that recruits staff from India, and says the tide is turning.

"Whereas, once upon a time, it was the place to go to recruit cheaper labour, today is about good quality and qualified talent," he says. "As India has progressed over the years, the experience you find in the Indian market is at times arguably better qualified than what you'll find in the UAE.

"The brain drain that India once experienced is now moving in the opposite direction with many preferring to migrate back or remain in India," he adds. "The cost of recruiting out of India has also increased. "

Recruitment agencies in India agree that despite slowing growth and concerns about rising inflation, there are more attractive opportunities in their home country than there were a few years ago.

"The salaries in India are very good," said Sonal Aurora, the managing director of Perfman HR in India, which is recruiting for senior management positions in the UAE. "We work on a lot of positions - 80 per cent of them we don't close because of the salary. The cost of living in the UAE is quite high. It's an employee's market - it's no longer an employer's market."

The hotel industry in the Emirates, in which Indians make up an estimated 35 per cent of the workforce, has relatively few senior managers and executives from the country but that is changing.

"India is not only providing labour force to UAE but many of the companies are manned with management teams [from India]," says Iftikhar Hamdani, the general manager of Ramada Ajman Hotel & Suites. "The hospitality sector is benefiting from skilled workers and managers from India. The country is a nearby destination and many of the expats love to stay in the UAE because of the short distance as compared to Europe, the Far East or America."

Economists point out that India needs to try to retain more of its talent within the country to increase productivity and help its economy grow.

"There is a massive shortfall of skilled labour at every level in India," says Vidya Mahambare, the principal economist at Crisil, a ratings and research firm in India. "The positive impact is because they send back remittances."

Of course, not everyone finds it easy to adjust to living and working in the UAE.

Prateek Oberoi, 30, from Mumbai, worked in Dubai for just seven months before moving back to India because he did not enjoy the lifestyle. "I come from a very vibrant background, family, friends," he says. "But in Dubai I felt lonely and isolated."

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