Jobhunters flock to DSI open day

A recruitment open-day held by Drake and Scull International (DSI) on Saturday to fill 300 vacant construction positions across its Saudi Arabia projects attracted 140 applicants.

The firm was able to interview 112 applicants on the day and has scheduled interviews with the remaining 28. The figures suggest a minimum of 160 positions remain to be filled.

“The numbers have proved there is a lot of good talent in the market right now,” DSI chief corporate affairs officer Zeina Tabari said. “We had 10 people interviewing at one point.”

Tabari said that the vast majority of applicants were for senior positions such as project managers and junior positions, with fewer applicants for mid-level positions such as project engineers.

“It goes to show that the people who were made redundant in the market were the most senior, and therefore the most expensive people,” Tabari said. “But the mid-level people who are getting reasonable salaries appear to still be in employment.”

Tabari added that people were now more open to the idea of moving to Saudi Arabia than had been the case in recent years.

“Now people are more open to moving because the Dubai market has shrunk and Saudi Arabia has a lot of good opportunities,” she said.

The firm has no immediate plans to stage a second open day in the UAE to fill its remaining Saudi Arabia-based vacancies.

Gulf Technical Construction Company, the contracting arm of DSI, is looking to employ a total of 2000 staff this year to fuel growth in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, which will inflate its staff numbers to 5000.

The firm’s executive director, Saleh Muradweij, said it has a number of Abu Dhabi-based projects in the pipeline, and is close to landing a US $272 million (AED1 billion) contract in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

“A lot of people have lost their jobs so there are more people out there,” Muradweij said. “It is an opportunity for us to look into a larger pool of talent than previously.”