Sharply sagging fuel prices have forced the Middle East’s second-largest economy to frantically diversify project portfolios beyond oil. The strategy is spurring new
opportunities in a highly competitive country where
project talent is well compensated.
Only Qatar offers a
higher median salary
for project talent in the
Middle East, according to
PMI’s 2015 publication
Earning Power: Project
Management Salary Survey—Ninth Edition, the
most recent data available. And for practitioners managing projects
with a budget over US$10
million, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) takes the top spot for compensation, paying US$95,274 on average.
To shift away from oil, project sponsors have
launched a raft of high-profile megaprojects, includ-
ing a US$3 billion amusement park, a US$6 billion
complex of 2,600 villas, and a US$3 billion, 75-acre
(30-hectare) town square in Dubai. Other initiatives
aim to transform the UAE into a knowledge-based,
innovation-driven economy. And Dubai’s Smart
City initiative, launched in 2014, has sparked hun-
dreds of new projects designed to make everything
from transportation and high-speed internet to
energy and infrastructure more efficient.
“There’s been some new activity in the job market
for project management positions in manufacturing
and infrastructure, which are part of the drive for
diversification away from oil,” says Joel A. Eacker,
PMP, PgMP, a senior vice president at CH2M who
oversees projects in the UAE. He says that healthcare,
food production and chemical companies are other
local sectors hungry for project management skills.
“Strong project controls, such as experience in
planning or managing costs and schedule systems,
are always a very strong positive for project man-
agement professionals in the UAE marketplace. But
risk managers are at a premium in very complex
and large projects and programs,” Mr. Eacker says.
Spread the Wealth
AT A GLANCE
2017 GDP
Growth
Forecast: 2.6%
Median Project
Practitioner
Salary:
US$81,663
Sectors to
Watch: IT,
construction,
manufacturing
How will the role
of project manager
evolve in 2017?
“I see 2017 bringing
more push for
additional project
management skills
and certifications.
Beyond the Project
Management
Professional (PMP)®
credential, I expect
more organizations
here will seek out
practitioners with
specific certifications
in risk, scheduling,
program management
and portfolio
management.”
—Oluwatosin Agbetusin,
PMI-SP, PMP, PgMP, director,
consulting and systems
integration program, Ericsson,
Lagos, Nigeria
“Fast-changing market
conditions impact
projects in progress.
To cope, project
managers will need
to elevate leadership
skills to keep projects
strategically aligned.”
—Sean Lavery,
senior project planner,
WorleyParsons,
Marshalltown, South Africa
Rendering of the Town Square project in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Warm