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UAE companies are struggling to fill specialised roles in artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud architecture, prompting a shift towards long-term onboarding strategies rather than quick-fix hiring, according to Sonam Haider, Global Mobility Strategist and Founder of Aethra Advisory.

Around 80 per cent of businesses expect to maintain or increase hiring in the second half of 2026, Haider told Khaleej Times, but the nature of those hires has changed significantly, with companies now focused on building capability rather than simply filling vacancies.

Roles tied to national priorities and digital transformation agendas are attracting the most sustained long-term investment, she said.

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Engineering and infrastructure talent – particularly for large-scale construction and development projects linked to initiatives such as Dubai's D33 plan – continues to draw committed hiring across multi-year pipelines. Financial services, technology and professional services are seeing similar trends, driven by the expansion of regional headquarters and growth in fintech and asset management activity across the UAE.

The hardest roles to fill are not entry-level or temporary positions but specialised technical ones: AI and machine learning engineers, cloud architects, and certified DevOps engineers.

Companies competing for this calibre of talent are building structured offers, relocation support and long-term career frameworks, alongside internal development pipelines, because market supply cannot meet demand at the required scale, Haider said.

She described her outlook for the market as cautiously optimistic, citing a 21 per cent rise in new business licences in Abu Dhabi in the first quarter of 2026 as a reliable leading indicator of near-term hiring demand.

Government investment is expected to drive downstream private sector activity through the second half of 2026 and into 2027, she said, with companies that build workforce architecture now better positioned for a more pronounced rebound anticipated in 2027.

Remote onboarding on the rise

During periods of regional uncertainty, several companies facing logistical or regulatory complexity around bringing new hires into the UAE opted to restructure entry timelines rather than rescind offers, Haider said.

A delayed start date allows an employee to begin work one to three months later than planned, giving the company time to finalise visa processing, accommodation and operational readiness. A more sophisticated arrangement – temporary onboarding outside the region – sees an employee formally begin employment while still based in their home country, through an Employer of Record structure or temporary payroll arrangement, before relocating to the UAE once infrastructure is ready.

What began as a workaround during disruption has become a deliberate strategy for a growing number of companies, Haider said, noting that the UAE's range of employment models – full-time, part-time, temporary and flexible work permits – gives businesses the structural agility to formalise such arrangements as a talent retention tool.

Why the talent gap persists

The shortage does not lie in the general pipeline of IT graduates, which remains strong across Asia, Europe and the wider region, but in the depth of applied, specialised experience these roles demand, Haider said.

UAE employers are competing for the same relatively small global pool of specialists sought by companies in San Francisco, London, Singapore and Toronto. While UAE employers offer genuine advantages in lifestyle, taxation and project quality, compensation packages in leading global tech hubs remain strong competition, and many top practitioners are already employed and not actively seeking new roles.

The pace of technological transformation has further compressed talent planning timelines, Haider said, noting that over 80 per cent of businesses globally expect technology to fundamentally reshape their operations by the end of the decade.

New talent corridors emerging

While South Asia, particularly India, remains foundational to the UAE's talent pool, employers are diversifying their sourcing strategies to access specialist skills and reduce concentration risk, Haider said.

Eastern Europe – including Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic – has become a source of deep technical talent for engineering, software architecture and cybersecurity roles. Sub-Saharan African markets such as Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria are also being closely watched for their growing developer and data science communities, while the Philippines and Vietnam are gaining relevance for roles combining technical skills with strong English proficiency.

Sonam Haider

Beyond geography, companies are also shifting their hiring models, using offshore teams and gig-based talent as a deliberate capability layer alongside permanent UAE headcount, rather than as a cost-cutting measure, Haider said.

She added that the UK-UAE Free Trade Agreement is expected to deepen cross-border investment and professional mobility in financial services, technology and professional services, creating a more structured pathway for UK-based talent to work across both markets. 

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