INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY

UAE’ S EMERGING TECH WORKFORCE

Workforce Skills Forecast 2025 report from ServiceNow, the AI control tower for business reinvention, projects that the UAE will need to add 1.03 million workers by 2030, driven largely by economic growth and demand for technology roles to support Digital Transformation.

This 12.1 % increase represents one of the highest percentage workforce expansions among the markets studied, compared with projected growth in the US at 2.1 %, the UK at 2.8 % and India at 10.6 %. on collaboration between people and AI and it’ s a future that’ s hiring now. Organisations that succeed will redesign roles and invest in upskilling to meet the demands of this new era.”

To help address the growing skills gap, ServiceNow launched ServiceNow University in May, a learning platform of the UAE’ s 8.5 million roles. By 2030, organisations will require more than 91,000 additional technology specialists.

Among the most in-demand roles will be search marketing strategists, with 5,600 new positions, followed by computer programmers with 4,200 roles and computer systems analysts with 2,700.

Conducted in collaboration with Pearson, the report found that manufacturing, education and retail will be the primary drivers of employment growth in the UAE, adding around 133,000, 78,000 and 60,000 new jobs respectively.

Finance and healthcare are also expected to expand, creating more than 40,000 and 39,000 roles. In relative terms, the energy and utilities sector is forecast to grow the fastest at 33 %, followed by education at 31 % and manufacturing at 18 %.

Examining the impact of agentic AI on workforce dynamics, ServiceNow found that efficiency gains will be outweighed by the need for human talent. In financial services, agentic AI could perform work equivalent to 17,000 full-time employees, or around 6.6 % of the current workforce. However, the report also projects a 26 % increase in jobs driven by economic growth and demand for skills that support emerging technologies.

“ What we are seeing in the UAE, as well as in nearly every other country surveyed, is that AI augmentation will be central to capturing the next wave of economic growth,” said William O’ Neill, Area Vice President and General Manager – GCC at ServiceNow:“ The future of work depends

William O’ Neill, Area Vice President and General Manager – GCC at ServiceNow

designed to build capabilities for an AIdriven world.”

The report highlights that demand for technology professionals will grow far faster than the overall workforce. While total employment is expected to rise by 12.1 %, tech roles are projected to increase by 54 %. Technology jobs currently account for around 169,000

“ To get ahead of labour shortfalls and win the future of work, organisations must build an inclusive future for workers,” said O’ Neill:

“ The roadmap is clear: deploy AI thoughtfully, establish strong governance frameworks and invest ambitiously in upskilling programmes that prepare employees for an AI-augmented world. This approach will help create workforces that are more resilient, innovative and fulfilled.” •

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