Dynamic teams needed to boost MENA growth

24/03/2015 08:29 AST

Organizations across Middle East and North Africa (MENA) need leaders to develop high-performance teams to support economic growth, experts announced at a recent conference.

While the UAE (22nd) and Qatar (25th) lead the Arab World in INSEAD Business School's Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2014, MENA countries face an urgent need to find and retain talent.

For example, only one in six of executives in the UAE saying they have made progress in building a future-proof workforce, according to the "Workforce 2020" study by Oxford Economics and SAP. Millennials, who will make up 75 percent of the global workforce by 2020, often face a "skills gap".

"With the Middle East facing an urgent skills and workforce talent gap, leaders must motivate their current teams to collaborate to become high-performing teams.

Developing technology skills and supporting millennials with work-related skills will help close the talent gap and support sustainable economic growth," said Sultan Al Hajji, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Total E&P - UAE.

"With European companies increasingly investing in the Middle East, this conference demonstrated how European best practices like partnerships between public, private, and academic sectors can be localized to help organizations develop high performance teams, overcome the skills gap, and boost competitiveness," said Dr Dalia Abu-Samra Rohte, Deputy CEO, Director Abu Dhabi Office - Regional Coordinator Business Development, German-Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce (AHK).

Saudi Gazette