Shortage of Expatriate Workers Affects UAE Projects

Gone are the days when recruiters could take a flight to countries like India, Bangladesh, etc. to recruit workers with specialised skills. Today, things are quite different and with the economic boom in India and other Asian countries, an average skilled worker would prefer to stay in his/her own country and earn almost the same amount to money as they would have earned in the Gulf or the UAE.
The shortage of skilled labour in UAE has heavily affected the construction companies and more than 160 construction projects in the UAE are being delayed. It is estimated that at present there are $160 billion worth of projects in Dubai alone and almost a million workers in the construction industry. Notably, around 95 per cent of the total workforce in the industry is from foreign land.
“Across all industries in the UAE, 42.5 per cent of expatriate workers are Indians and 60 to 70 per cent of them are in the construction industry. Lots of the main contractors are now looking at technology as a way to reduce the labour component," said Samir Khosla, Vice-Chairman of Dynamic Staffing Services.