Harry Kumra, Senior talent acquisition manager, Yahoo! Middle East

“The United Arab Emirates has seen significant employment changes over the last 10 years, the next 10 years will see continued growth of multinationals looking to capitalise on expansion markets and result in moving key talent segments into the region. This has, and will continue to have, a positive impact on working best practices and local talent development. Apart from compensation, employees are continuously looking to grow themselves while maintaining a work-life balance, so we will see continued flexible working conditions, working from home and increased satellite offices.”

Matt Nudds, Associate director, Purple

“While the uncertainty in European financial markets may have an effect in the short term, I believe we’ll see an uplift and substantial growth over the next 10 years. We will continue to focus on long-term client relationships, putting consultants on site if necessary to better understand our client businesses and increasingly work as business partners, rather than suppliers. In recent years we have seen social networking change the way we reach people and market ourselves, and with Skype and cloud technology offering a virtual server in the sky, we will see more recruitment businesses launching, creating healthy competition.”

Sarah Mackie, Commercial director, Infinity Learning

“There is no doubt that the global economy will be the primary factor affecting our decisions over the coming decade. A recent survey among Infinity Learning’s online community of corporate L&D [learning & development] professionals suggests a move away from face-to-face training in favour of online learning (64% of respondents) as a direct result of cost cutting. We will be looking to the latest technology to ensure that the online learning experience is media-rich and engaging to maximise the learner experience. The development of immersive and mobile applications will therefore be our focus moving forward.”