Job Discussion Forums

pixie8 · Joined: 09 May 2006 Posts: 6

I hope someone can give me some information. I am planning to move to UAE soon. My partner is Mexican and we are worried that it will be difficult for him to find work there. He does speak english but not to the extent that he could teach it. Are there any possibilities for jobs for foreigners whose first language is not english?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

His job possibilities will depend more on his education and work experience than his nationality. If he has skills to offer, he should be able to find a job. If he has no experience or education, he will be competing with masses of imported workers from Asia which means that the pay would be very low.

One key factor is a driving license. It will be a slow process to get it if he does not currently have one from the US or Europe.

VS

pixie8 · Joined: 09 May 2006 Posts: 6

Thanks for the information. He is very well educated but is a good level of English a requirement for jobs there? Is it better to have some proof like a TOEFL certificate or equivalent as he can't speak Arabic?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I would say that if he doesn't know Arabic, he best have good English. It is the usual language of business there. A TOEFL certificate is mostly only used by US universities. But, if he has one, you might as well bring it. I suspect that they will figure out his standard of English if he has an interview.

BTW... be very careful of employment agencies in the Gulf. Many of them merely collect fees from applicants and never actually send people out on interviews or get them jobs.

VS

Kaspar Hauser · Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Posts: 83

Any job for which a good education is required in the UAE will require either a good level of Arabic, English or both. In other words, there are office workers who can speak only English or only Arabic, but not many who speak neither.

By the way, there are many, many Latinos in this country, and there is a huge organization called Damas Latinas. Obviously your husband is not a "dama", but making contact with them might be helpful.

stoth1972 · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 6:09 pm Post subject:

Perhaps finding work with a Spanish-speaking company (I knew South Americans of various nationalities who came over to Dubai with their employer back home) before going would be a better option. If time permits, English/Arabic classes before leaving would be ideal. As it stands, I'm afraid he will not find employement easily.