The State of the IT Job Market in Saudi Arabia - Case Study Example

The state of the IT job market in Saudi Arabia Name Professor Date Abstract Intensification use of information technology has led to rise in number of students pursuing business courses integrated with IT skills. The situation only communicates one message that information technology has become an integral part of business in improving processes and continuity. One of the courses which have offered business students and professionals and opportunity to enhance their IT skills is business information Technology. Therefore, this report will analyze the state of the Informtation Technology job market in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the report will analyze what is the market for these jobs in Saudi Arabia, how people in these jobs get developed and what United Nation and World Bank say about that business information technology Saudi Arabian market. To put the report into context, secondary research techniques were used. Findings point out the business information technology is marketable in Saudi Arabia due to education system which does not focus on IT and innovation. Careers in Business information technology Table of Contents Abstract 2 Careers in Business information technology 3 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Research question 4 3.0 Research Methodology 5 4.0 The market for Business information technology jobs in Saudi Arabia 5 5.0 How people in these jobs get developed 9 6.0 What the United Nation and World Bank reports say about that market 12 7.0 Conclusion 13 8.0 Bibliography 14 1.0 Introduction Globalization and Increase in number of businesses and companies entering the market have increase led to intensification of competition prompting managers to look for new ways to sustain change. According to Graham-Hyde, technology has been identified as a key factor in improving various functions of business such research, development, production and marketing1. Automating almost every function of the business has improved how companies coordinate and communicate with suppliers, customers and government agencies for efficient operation. Graham-Hyde stated that in the process, educationists and scholars have been prompted to tailor curriculum to consider business and technology2. The perspective led to birth of Business information technology as a course. Therefore, this paper will analyze business information technology as a course and evaluate the market for the jobs under business information technology in Saudi Arabia with comparison to US. In addition the report will assess how people in these jobs get developed and what the United Nation and World Bank reports say about that market. 2.0 Research question 1. What is the market for these jobs in Saudi Arabia? 2- How do people in these jobs get developed? 3- What do United Nations and World Bank Report say about the Saudi Arabia job market for business information technology? 3.0 Research Methodology The study will realize its data and information by using quantitative techniques to assess the link between the business and information technology, and the how marketable are business information technology in Saudi in comparison to the US, how do people in these jobs get developed and what United Nations and World Bank Report say about the Saudi Arabia job market. To be precise the process will be carried out using secondary data collection by analyzing journals, books, databases, reports and websites. The methodology is good for this study compared because it makes the work of the research easier by saving time that he or she would have used to go to the field. 4.0 The market for Business information technology jobs in Saudi Arabia A research about Saudi Arabia has found out that there is a shortage of employees since its job market supply cannot meet the demand. The population has highly contributed to the shortage due to more jobs, but less people to work on such jobs. Moussa stated that today, population of Saudi Arabia stands at 26.9 million with 18.7 million being Saudi national and 8.4 being non-nationals3. Saudi Arabia highly depends on expatriates and immigrant labor, whilst their most of its citizens are unemployed or prefer personal businesses4. Alhamad (2014) claimed that the education system of Saudi Arabia is still undergoing fundamental development and do not put much focus on Information technology. Most of Saudi nationals are not technology savvy hence both public and the private sector lacks IT professionals to work in their organizations. The situation makes business information technology marketable in Saudi Arabia5. Non-nationals quite often get hired in Saudi companies to install, integrate and operate IT infrastructure. Nationals who have also acquired education on business information technology in foreign countries have a high chance of being hired in Saudi companies with a promise of high monthly salary as shown in the figure 1 below. However, a comparison between Saudi Arabia and the US differs to some great extent. A comparison between business analyst’s salary scale in both Saudi Arabia and the US shows that the job is marketable in Saudi Arabia than the US. This is because Saudi companies offer higher salary than their US counterparts. A conversion of SAR 307, 227 of what Saudi pays for a business analyst’s job result to $81,924 which is better than $60,000 paid by US firms (see figure 2). As stated earlier, Saudi Arabia is not known for technology and most of its universities are just embracing IT and business course in the recent years. In fact, its education system and universities in general has been condemned for focusing majorly on religion. Kasim claimed that Islam subjects dominate the educational system of Saudi Arabia and religion subject is compulsory subject in every university6. Labour experts were concerned that Saudi education was not focusing on marketable skills such as business information technology, computer science and business information systems which could offer students and employees capacity and opportunity for innovation. The experts added that youths of Saudi often lacks the technical and innovation skills needed in the business sector for development. Figure 1: Business analyst salary Source: (payscale.com 2015)7 The diagram below shows the salary scale an increment among various business information technology jobs in the US (see figure 2). The chart shows that people have developed their careers as data scientist earns the highest salary with a potential increment. Data analyst, especially senior data analyst earns the least salary at around $57000 a month8. However, the salaries in US are still lower compared to what their counterparts in Saudi Arabia earn. Figure 2: Job Title and Salary scale Source: (Data Science Central 2015)9 5.0 How people in these jobs get developed In Saudi Arabia, there is no institution of higher which offers business information technology at the moments. However, the few universities offer related course which are majorly Science in Information technology, computer engineering and computer science. Al-Maliki argued that Universities which offer such course in Saudi Arabia comprise of King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University and university of business and technology10. However, since Saudi Arabia now has a large presence and access to internet, its national can register for online class on business information technology. Most of world class universities offer online learning. Some can also learn through social sites like LinkedIN. Online class can be cheap to Saudi nationals compared to moving to countries like the US, the UK, Australia and other countries where accommodation and education is expensive. Just like any career, people in jobs such as a data scientist, data analysis, business analyst, business intelligence analyst, business intelligence architect, network administrator, systems developer, data architect, systems analyst, and system administrator have to study business information technology. However, before one gets to this course, they have to fulfill the entry requirements which are set by the university. Strathmore University 2015 claimed that for one to pursue a degree in Business information technology they must have attained a mean grade of C+ with a grade of C in Mathematics and English at the high school final exams11. Universities also accept students with diploma qualifications in business information technology. The qualification stated here are standard and could vary from one country to another. According Strathmore University the course is conducted into two stages which include stage I and stage II and has comprise of 28 units. The stage I entail learning in year 1 and 2 while Stage II involves learning in year 3 and 4 and comprise of 21 units to be covered. Every stage has 2 academic years. Strathmore University 2015 posited that after the stage 1, students are normally advised to seek for industrial attachment in which they can apply the skills acquired at the university in real life situation. Attaining a degree in this course takes between three and half to 4 years, depending on county12. In the US, the course takes four years and the degree is accredited by an institution called Computing Accreditation Commission. To develop their career as a systems analyst, student are anticipated to study both technology and business units including marketing, organization behavior, human computer interaction, economics, management theories, information systems managements, computer programming, mathematics, database concepts computer networking, data structures and algorithms, e-commerce, Artificial Intelligence, communication skills and business. Students are taken through research on management theories, marketing skills, programming languages and computer networking skills which are very essential in running of current organizations. Students normally take 15 hours per unit while on studies. After graduation, students need internship in various organizations to gain more experience needed to provide services in sector industry. To develop further and be ready for the market, some graduates pursue professional courses such as Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Management Information system, A+, Microsoft Certified IT Professional and Microsoft Certified System Engineers among others13. At this point, the candidates the student are now well developed for the job market and can do a job such as systems analysts, network administrator, systems developer, data architect and system administrator among others. While at the job, IT professionals who are looking forward to improve their business information technology skills can register for evening classes. Graham-Hyde contended that technology and business strategies are factors which keeps on changing quite often, hence requires employees to keep on developing their careers while nurturing their creativity and innovation. Some universities have also enhanced upgraded their curriculum to include masters in business information technology. Masters take one and half to two years from different universities. Like a degree course, masters’ students can opt for day or evening classes. People who have masters have an upper hand in getting jobs in hospitals, network service provider companies, communication companies and auditing firms among others. Business Information Technology is carefully developed in partnership between course experts and businesses and industries. The modules and units are motivated by the latest research on information systems research. Kent University argued that the design of this course enables the students to develop a comprehensive indulgent of relationships between information technology and business organizations and groups or individuals operate in an organization14. 6.0 What the United Nation and World Bank reports say about that market The World Bank report on Saudi Arabia’s presents a picture of adoption of ICT in business to increased efficiency and competitive advantage (Saudi Ministry of Labor 2012). Both United Nation and World Bank reports claimed education of systems of Saudi Arabia have done little to improve the information technology industry and even to incorporate into business sectors. In fact, there is just one major company offering IT and business services called Saudi Aramco which is located in Dammam. United Nation report of 2013 claimed that over the years, the education of systems of Saudi Arabia did not offer broad education on important fields like science, technology, mathematics and computer engineering15. The situation forced Saudi students to travel overseas to acquire advanced skills on technology and business. Research carried by World Bank reported that over 800 students travel to US annually to study business and technology. Even though the rate at which companies use information has improved and is continuing, the curriculum do not deeply cover business information technology to enable Saudi companies to compete with those of US. According to World Bank report, the situation in the market has forced companies to rely on foreign labour, particularly IT experts to work in their firms16. The kingdom is fast moving and improving the competitiveness of its knowledge-based industries like telecommunications, finance, education and health care, and now depend strongly on the information technology. Unlike the US where business information technology jobs can be acquired anywhere, Saudi Arabia technology jobs are concentrated in three key cities including Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah. Business information technology jobs are highly concentrated in these cities because they host headquarters of multinational firms17. 7.0 Conclusion From the report, this research has shown that there is an increase in people taking careers in Business information technology due to its importance in running modern businesses. Competition is rapidly taking place in business arena and technology has proven that it is one of the factors which can hold to ensure the company sustains it. In fact, companies which do not embrace technology are predicted to be overtaken by events and finally be driven out of the market. Business information technology professional have the knowledge, skills and capability to help the businesses automate their operations and services so as to gain competitive advantage. Despite the importance, this report has established that Saudi has not done much with their education to improve the state of technology. It is therefore a challenge for government to incorporate business information technology course so as to improve its technology status and service delivery. 8.0 Bibliography Adel, S. Al. D., & Syed, M. R 2005, Saudization (Localization)-A critical Review, Human Resource Development International, Vol.8, No.4, pp.495–502. Alhamad, H.S 2014, The Labor Market in Saudi Arabia: Foreign Workers, Unemployment, and Minimum Wage, viewed 22nd Oct 2015 http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/905/the-labor-market-in-saudi-arabia-foreign-workers-unemployment-and-minimum-wage Al-Maliki, S.QA 2013, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Investment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Assessing Strengths and Weaknesses, Journal of Organizational Knowledge Management, Vol. 2013, No.2, pp.1-15. Cavalcante, S.A 2013, Understanding the impact of technology on firms’ business models, European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 16, No, 3 pp. 285-300. Data Science Central 2015, Chart: Salaries by Roles in Data Science, Viewed 22nd Oct 2015 http://www.datasciencecentral.com/forum/topics/chart-salaries-by-roles-in-data-science De Bel-Air, F 2014, Gulf Labour Markets and Migration, Guld Research Center. Dutta, S, Geiger, T & Lanvin, B 2015, The Global Information Technology Report 2015: ICTs for Inclusive Growth, Johnson Cornell University. Graham-Hyde, M 2014, Technology is reinventing your business, Strategic Direction, Vol. 30, No.4. pp. 1 – 2. Kasim, R 2012, Workforce Nationalization in the Gulf Cooperation Council States, Center for International and Regional Studies, George Town University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Kent University 2015, Overview: Business Information Technology - BSc (Hons), Viewed 22nd Oct 2015 http://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/137/business-information-technology#overview Moussa, M.N 2013, Investigating the High Turnover of Saudi Nationals versus Non-Nationals in Private Sector Companies Using Selected Antecedents and Consequences of Employee Engagement, International Journal of Business and Management; Vol. 8, No. 18, pp.41-52. Saudi Ministry of Labor 2012, Annual Statistics Report. Riyadh: Saudi Ministry of Labor, Viewed 22nd Oct 2015 www.emol.gov.sa/nitaqat/files/manual.pdf Selectusa 2015, The Software and Information Technology Services Industry in the United States, United States Department of Commerce. Strathmore University 2015, Bachelor of business information technology, Viewed 22nd Oct 2015 http://www.strathmore.edu/fit/index.php/programmes/bachelors-degrees/bachelor-of-business-information-technology Read More