We’ve all heard the news: a new 5-year visa is set to be introduced for expat students and graduates in the UAE.
There’s buzzing from students, sighs of relief from parents, excitement from employers, and huge hoorays from the Oliv team!
At the moment, students and parents have to go through the visa-renewal process every 12 months. Employers struggle with hiring fresh graduates as not all students are able to stay in the UAE after graduating. And in just a bid to stay, students end up taking on roles they’re not particularly happy about.
So we’re jumping for joy because this means more young, talented people getting exciting, relevant jobs and kick-starting their careers!
There’s only a handful of information floating out there at the moment so let’s take a look at what this means for you.
What this (potentially) means for employers:
- The talent pool will get a whole lot bigger
- You’ll need new ways to win the war for talent
- The process of hiring will become much easier
- You’ll find more relevant applicants to your jobs
The talent pool will get a whole lot bigger
With more students being able to stay in the country after graduation, the talent pool for employers to hire from will get significantly bigger. This means a greater variety of talent, diversity in perspectives, and more ideas becoming available to employers across all fields.
You’ll need new ways to win the war for talent
A huge number of young, talented people will be able to stay in the UAE and seek out internships/entry level jobs. So we suspect the war for talent is going to get a little more competitive. Employers are going to have to consider all the different deciding factors for a job, including compensation, work-life balance, clear growth opportunities, trainings, location, flexibility in working hours etc.
The process of hiring will become much easier
Hiring interns or fresh graduates can be a little confusing at first. Especially when the legality of it depends on where your business is located (which is why we have our visa guide to help you out). But we’re hoping the 5-year university-sponsored residence visas will make hiring (and working) much more straightforward for everyone.
You’ll find more relevant applicants to your jobs
Youth talent will be able to take on internships without worrying about them turning into jobs immediately afterwards in order to secure an employment visa to stay in the country. This means employers see applications that are more suitable to their requirements (and candidates get to pursue what they’ve been dreaming of!).
We spoke to the Oliv community to get their take on the news and one of the most prominent points being echoed was that the addition of the five-year student visa provided them with a confidence in their academic and professional path that they didn’t have before.
I’m so excited to hear about this. Earlier, we had to renew our visa every year and at the end of our course we had to find a job ASAP to stay in the country. So most of the graduates would find a job for the sake of getting a visa – and you end up compromising on a lot of different things with this approach: relevancy, compensation, location, etc. With this new system though, we’ll will have more time to decide on our career path and pursue what we’re truly passionate and excited about it.
– Ahmed Kamlani, Chemical Engineering
It’s important to retain and invest in those who make the future of UAE. This step provides not only security to an expatriate student like myself, but makes me confident in pursuing the opportunities to come.
– Himani Kothari, Marketing
I was very happy when I read about this new addition. This will definitely have a positive impact on the overall market as it will allow students to accept job offers that are up to their standards instead of feeling rushed to accept the first offer that comes their way.
– Noura Itani, Human Resource Management
The introduction of new visas are will be taking the UAE in a promising new direction by providing students with more opportunities and employers with more talent – while providing both with greater confidence in their choices.
How is the new visa going to impact you? Tell us in the comments below!
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