QS Planet in the Telegraph discussing the benifits of the Middle East

15/02/2008

Top of the world... and they're British
By Martin BakerLast Updated: 12:58am GMT 15/02/2008The Daily Telegraph (UK) The days when world maps were coloured red by the British Empire and the nation was not only the workshop of the world but the source of many of its best executives, managers, accountants and engineers who laid the foundations of scores of thriving businesses, are part and parcel of history.The red may have disappeared and British business influence waned, but the age of globalisation and the increasing dominance of London as the world's pre-eminent financial centre are once again stimulating demand for British expertise and management skills.Headhunters have British managers higher up their wanted list. More executives are being poached by foreign companies, while the attractions and rewards available overseas and the increasing frustrations of working in Britain are making managers more adventurous and ambitious.There are high-profile examples. Cardiff-born Sir Howard Stringer is chairman and chief executive of Sony. Tony Davis is in the pilot's seat as chief executive of Singapore low-cost airline Tiger Airways. There are many others who are further down the ladder. Here are some of the areas where Britain is once again punching above its management weight.Lifestyle boom in the desertMany of the most grandiose construction projects are in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai now arguably the world's biggest building site and Abu Dhabi attempting to keep up.They need management expertise and Jay Sihota, managing director of Edinburgh-based recruitment firm QS Planet, says this has led to a new flood of British construction management talent. "We do 98pc of our business out of the Middle East," he says."They cannot get enough UK skilled people, from middle-manager to executive level. "The demand is huge. We have 70 management positions in the Middle East right now that we're trying to fill."QS Planet says 35pc of construction professionals working in the Middle East have come from the UK and Europe. The financial rewards are significant, with monthly salaries for quantity surveyors averaging nearly £ 4,000, directors fetching about £ 8,800 and managing directors £ 13,800.All this is tax free in the UAE and there are also generous housing and travel allowances. About 70pc of construction professionals in the Middle East also receive a regular increase in salary, with the average rise an eye-popping 14pc a year."The attraction is the lifestyle," says Mr Sihota."There's a whole lifestyle on tap for construction managers and executives in the UAE that just isn't available to them at home."In the past, it was very difficult to persuade experienced executives in their 40s to go there because many of them had families and it was not the most attractive place for spouses, but there has been a big change and the UAE is now popular with family and friends."The Middle East jobs boom is also happening at boardroom level, which is working with consultants McKinsey to help the boards in Gulf countries to establish best practice.National Grid chairman Sir John Parker now sits on the board of Dubai Ports World, having presided over the sale of P&O to the company when he was chairman of the British shipping group.Former BT Group chief executive Sir Peter Bonfield is a non-executive director at Dubai International Capital. "We are seeing people who a few years ago would not have regarded any time in any of the so-called emerging markets economies as worthwhile start to consider it as a serious career opportunity," says Mr Breen."The old expatriate, pink-gin brigade is a dying breed. You are now seeing a new class of professionals who see working in several countries across the world as part of their career trajectory."