With just a little over three months to the official opening, the Expo 2020 Dubai is expected to generate several thousand jobs in the UAE market, and give a boost to the economy, say HR consultancies and industry experts.
Considered to be the world’s biggest show, the world fair will be held between 1st October and 1st April and is likely to draw millions of visitors to Dubai.
With the world flocking to Dubai, businesses will have more customers, which in turn, will encourage them to hire more employees, particularly in the service industries, HR firms said.
“Expo 2020 will impact Dubai’s economy and we are predicting a huge influx of jobs in the region especially within travel tourism, real estate, retail, events and exhibition, technology and software consultancy, marketing and media, engineering, security, logistics, health and safety, procurement and finance and most importantly hospitality,” said Mayank Patel, Country Head Middle East, Adecco a global HR Solutions firm.
Dubai, already being a business hub for lead industries, particularly, real estate, technology and hospitality, and with Expo 2020 being round-the-corner, the attractiveness is set to increase further, he pointed out.
The year 2020 was among the worst-hit for businesses, due to covid-triggered lockdowns and border closures. Several of them were compelled to layoff people and downsize to survive.
However, with mass vaccination drive and better prospects in 2021, Dubai gradually reopened, and several hard-hit sectors, particularly travel, hospitality and aviation have begun to bounce back.
According to Raj Rishi Singh, Chief Business Officer, GCC at MakeMyTrip, Dubai Expo is one of the biggest global events post-pandemic, and the presence of people will boost jobs in travel and tourism sector.
“As we countdown to Dubai Expo, we are confident that travel demand will see a spurt in growth during this period,” he said, adding that international travellers are likely to club their visit to the expo with a short vacation to some leisure hotspots across the region.
Therefore, with the return of demand for both leisure and business travel in the region, it is hoped that the industry will also bring up fresh work opportunities for skilled workforce with deep travel and hospitality domain expertise.
With over 25 million new visitors to Dubai, an increased demand for transportation is likely, and foreseeing this demand, several companies have already begun to hire drivers.
“The entertainment and events industry is already in the hiring mode as the industry is getting ready for opening up ahead of Expo 2020. I believe a lot of business conferences, and entertainment events will fill up the schedule before the end of summer this year. As a major events organiser, we are getting ready for the largest cinema convention at META Cinema Forum in October to celebrate the success of an industry that will create thousands of jobs across the region,” said Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner of GM Events.
The Managing Drirector of City One Tourism and Travel, Hemali Shah, said that Expo 2020 has changed the economic sentiment of smaller companies too.
“Right now, even I am hiring for four different positions to play our small part to be ready for this mega event. The good times are coming back and each one of us will play our part, towards rebuilding the global sentiment," said, Shah.
If the job advertisements on online platforms are any indication, several companies have advertised for ‘Expo jobs’ and are looking out for applications for positions like waiters, drivers, storekeepers, chefs, and sales executives, and the like.
Further, there is an increasing demand for senior-level executive talents such as Operations and Project Managers, Senior Manager Production, Drone Show Managers, Guest Service Managers etc.
Companies are also planning to hire mid-level executives like customer service agents, promoters, hostess, tour guides, and less-skilled workforces such as helpers, technicians, cleaners and electricians.
Moreover, thousands of fresh positions are open with the country pavilions hiring people to manage the pavilions. Over 200 countries have confirmed participation and work at majority of the pavilions are almost complete.
“Expo 2020 hiring’s have been slowly picking up since the end of Q1 with a majority of the population being vaccinated and declining Covid cases are adding momentum to hiring. We further expect a major increase in employment opportunities in the coming months,” said Patel.
