中東和北非人才地圖

MENA

TALENTMAP

Thefutureofoutsourcingandpotential

opportunitiesforemergingcountriesin

theMENAregion

February2023

Dr.LeilaHoteit,HaidarAmmar,WissamBechara,

WassimAouad,GeorgesBallouz,AlyMortada,

MouhamadRabah,EliasBoustani,WassimDaniel,

MariamDaher

BostonConsultingGrouppartnerswithleaders

inbusinessandsocietytotackletheirmost

importantchallengesandcapturetheirgreatest

opportunities.BCGwasthepioneerinbusiness

strategywhenitwasfoundedin1963.Today,

weworkcloselywithclientstoembracea

transformationalapproachaimedatbenefitingall

stakeholders—empoweringorganizationstogrow,

buildsustainablecompetitiveadvantage,and

drivepositivesocietalimpact.

Ourdiverse,globalteamsbringdeepindustryand

functionalexpertiseandarangeofperspectives

thatquestionthestatusquoandsparkchange.

BCGdeliverssolutionsthroughleading-edge

managementconsulting,technologyanddesign,

andcorporateanddigitalventures.Weworkina

uniquelycollaborativemodelacrossthefirmand

throughoutalllevelsoftheclientorganization,

fueledbythegoalofhelpingourclientsthriveand

enablingthemtomaketheworldabetterplace.

?12.13Sources176

01ExecutiveSummary

Tableofcontents

?1.1Executivesummary

05

???????????????1.2

06

02Introduction

?2.1Studycontext

08

?2.2Joboutsourcing

interpretations

08

?2.3Jobsandjobclusters

09

03Demands:Keymarketswithlargenumberofjobsoutsourced

?3.1Joboutsourcingtrends

11

?3.2Keydemandhotspotsand

prominentjobclusters

13

?3.3Deep-dive:UAE

outsourcingprospects

16

?3.4Deep-dive:KSA

outsourcingprospects

21

?3.5Deep-dive:Qatar

outsourcingprospects

24

?3.6Deep-dive:USA

outsourcingprospects

27

?3.7Deep-dive:France

outsourcingprospects

31

?3.8Deep-dive:UnitedKingdom

outsourcingprospects

34

04Supply:Learningsfromcase

studiesandmethodology

?4.1Casestudies:Markets

renownedfortalentsupply

38

?4.2Casestudies:Markets

renownedfortalentsupply

39

05Lebanon:Atalent-drivenoutsourcinghubforsophisticatedjobs

?5.1Baseline

44

?5.2Valuepropositionand

talentpool

44

?5.3Recommendedareas

offocus

47

?5.4Skilling,upskillingand

re-skillingrecommendations51

06Jordan:Awell-roundedout-

sourcinghubfor

sophisticatedjobs

?6.1Baseline

55

?6.2Valuepropositionand

talentpool

56

?6.3Recommendationson

areasoffocus

58

?6.4Skilling,upskillingand

re-skillingrecommendations62

07Iraq:Apotentialoutsourcinghubforsophisticatedjobs

?7.1Baseline

66

?7.2Valuepropositionand

talentpool

66

?7.3Recommendationson

areasoffocus

69

?7.4Skilling,upskillingand

re-skillingrecommendations71

08Egypt:Anoutsourcinghubforcreativestrengths

?8.1Baseline

74

?8.2Valuepropositionand

talentpool

75

?8.3Recommendationson

areasoffocus

78

?8.4Skilling,upskillingand

re-skillingrecommendations81

09Morocco:Anoutsourcinghubwithwell-balancedoffering

?9.1Baseline

85

?9.2Valuepropositionand

talentpool

86

?9.3Recommendationson

areasoffocus

89

?9.4Skilling,upskillingand

re-skillingrecommendations92

10Tunisia:Anoutsourcinghubwithweel-balancedoffering

?10.1Baseline

95

?10.2Valuepropositionand

talentpool

96

?10.3Recommendationson

areasoffocus

98

?10.4Skilling,upskillingand

re-skillingrecommendations...101

11Conclusionandclosingnotes

12Appendix

?12.1Jobsandjobclusters 105

?12.2Keydemandhotspots 107

?12.3Casestudies 111

?12.4Supplymethodology:Laborqualificationsandabundance.121

?12.5Lebanon 122

?12.6Jordan 129

?12.7Iraq 137

?12.8Egypt 145

?12.9Morocco 154

?12.10Tunisia 162

?12.11Upskillingbenchmarksand

lessonslearned 170

?12.12Studylimitations 175

ACRONYMS

TOPIC

Acronyms

Listofacronyms

DESCRIPTION

BDD

BeirutDigitalDistrict

BCG

BostonConsultingGroup

MENA

MiddleEastandNorthAfrica

ISIC

InternationalStandardIndustrialClassificationofAllEconomicActivities

WEF

WorldEconomicForum

OECD

OrganizationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment

ILO

InternationalLabourOrganization

SOC

StandardOccupationalClassification

BPO

BusinessProcessOutsourcing

ITO

InformationTechnologyOutsourcing

KPO

KnowledgeProcessOutsourcing

UAE

UnitedArabEmirates

KSA

KingdomofSaudiArabia

UK

UnitedKingdom

GDP

GrossDomesticProduct

CAGR

CompoundAnnualGrowthRate

SMEs

SmallandMedium-sizedEnterprises

KPI

KeyPerformanceIndicator

SEZ

SpecialEconomicZone

AI

ArtificialIntelligence

IP

IntellectualProperty

HRM

HumanResourceManagement

CRM

CustomerRelationshipManagement

Definitions

Listofdefinitions

DEFINITION

Supply

Talentsupplyfromthirdpartiestofulfillselectjobsthatareoutsourcedfromotherentitiesandcountries

Demand

Entitiesandcountriesthatareoutsourcingselectjobs,ratherthanfulfillingthemin-house,andareinsearchofthird-partytalenttooccupyselectjobs

Focuscountries

SixcountriesintheMENAregion-Lebanon,Jordan,Iraq,Egypt,Morocco,andTunisia–whosevaluepropositionandtalentpotentialwereassessed,inordertosupplytalenttooccupyoffshorejobsthataresubjecttooutsourcing

Areasoffocus

Serviceswithinjobclustersandsub-clustersthatfocuscountriesarewellequippedandshouldaimtosupplytalentfor

01Executivesummary

1.1ExecutiveSummary

Inafast-changingworldwithworkplacesinfluxandvigor-ousnewworkforcesemerging,enormousopportunitiesarise.Joboutsourcingisamongtherichest.

Theoutsourcingpracticebeganwithlargecorporationsindevelopedcountriesoutsourcingnon-coreandbasicfunctions–callcenters,payroll,etc.–todevelopingcoun-tries.Ithelpedbusinessesreducecostsandfocusoncoredifferentiators.Asorganizationsgrapplewithseismicshiftsdrivenbynonstoptechnologicalinnovation,pan-demic-andclimate-drivendisruptions,andgeopoliticalupheaval,thejoboutsourcingmarketisreconfiguringinparallel.Nolongerjustintheprovinceofnon-corefunc-tions,outsourcingisincreasinglyembracedasakeysolutiontocriticaltalentshortages.Itistappingintonewsourcesofsophisticatedlaborandcorefunctionalexper-tisealongthevaluechain.

So,whathappened?Astheworkforceevolved,sotoodidoutsourcing.Digitalizationhasdisruptedtheworkplace,creatingjobswhileerodingothers,andtransforminglong-standinglabormarketparadigms.Thishasledtothediminishingofhumaninvolvementinmainstreamjobs;forexample,jobsliketelephoneoperatoranddataentrytypistaregivingwaytosophisticatedAIandmachinelearningtools.Inparallel,thedemandforother,moresophisticatedjobshassoared,creatingaglobaltalentshortage,andrecastingoutsourcingasaplatformforaccessinghighlyskilledtalent.

Thefutureofjoboutsourcingisevolving.Itwillcontinuetoexpandintomoresophisticatedjobs,maintaincover-ageofintermediaryones,andreduceemphasisonmain-streamjobs,especiallythosemostaffectedbydigitaliza-tionandautomation.

Asoutsourcingevolves,sodotheopportunitiesitoffers.Hence,thisstudyexaminestheopportunitiesforsixcoun-triesintheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica(MENA)region–Lebanon,Jordan,Iraq,Egypt,Morocco,Tunisia–tosupplytalentforoutsourcedjobs,promotingskilldevelopment,employment,andeconomicstability.

Withitshighlyqualified,multilingual,andcostcompetitivelaborforce,Lebanonhasgreatpotentialtobecomeatalentsupplyhubforoffshorework.However,challenges,includingpoliticalandeconomicrisks,maythreatenits

outsourcingprospects.Lebanoniswellpositionedtosup-plytalentinsixareas:customerrelationshipmanagementservices;software/applicationsdevelopmentandintegra-tion;engineeringdesignandconsultingservices;market-ingservices;businessconsultingandmarketresearchservices;andtelemedicineandremoteeducation.

Jordanalsoshowsexcellentpotentialtogrowintoatalentsupplyhubforoffshorejobs,withitshighlyqualifiedlaborforce,attractivemarketenvironment,advancedtelecominfrastructure,andfavorableregulatorylandscape.Itnever-thelessfaceschallenges,includingtheabsenceofdataprotectionlaws.Jordaniswellpositionedtosupplytalentinsixareas:customerrelationshipmanagementservices;software/applicationsdevelopmentandintegration;engi-neeringdesignandconsultingservices;financeandac-countingservices;businessconsultingandmarketre-search;andtelemedicineandremoteeducation.

Iraqcouldevolveintoatalentsupplyhubforbasicoffshorejobs,leveragingitscostcompetitivelaborforce,operationalSpecialEconomicZones,andlowcorporatetaxrates.However,criticalchallenges,suchaspoliticalrisksandlaggingtelecomandphysicalinfrastructures,threatentoundermineitsoutsourcingprospectsandlowerthework-force’sattractiveness.Iraqispositionedtosupplytalentinfourareas:customerrelationshipmanagement;humanresourcemanagement;contentanddocumentprocessing;andITconsultingandsupport.

Egypthasstrongpotentialtobecomeatalentsupplyhubforoffshorejobs,thankstoaqualifiedandcost-competitivelaborforce,attractivemarketenvironment,anddigitalandphysicalinfrastructure.Suchambitionswouldbechal-lenged,however,bylimitedgovernmentinvolvementinfacilitatingset-upofoutsourcingbusinesses.Egyptiswellpositionedtosupplytalentinsixareas:customerrelation-shipmanagement;engineeringdesignandconsultingservices;software/applicationsdevelopmentandintegra-tion;financeandaccountingservices;mediaservices;andmarketingservices.

Itswell-establishedoutsourcingecosystem,attractivemar-ketenvironment,andstrongdigitalandphysicalinfrastruc-turegiveMoroccoexcellentpotentialtogrowasatalentsupplyhubforoffshorejobs.However,itwillneedtoad-dresschallenges,includinglimitedlaboravailabilityandlaborcostcompetitiveness.Moroccoiswell-positionedtosupplytalentinfiveareas:customerrelationshipmanage-

5MENATALENTMAP

ment;humanresourcemanagement;software/applica-tionsdevelopmentandintegration;businessconsultingandmarketresearch;andlegalservices.

Finally,Tunisiaalsoexhibitsgreatpotentialtoaccelerateitscurrentmomentumandbecomeatalentsupplyhubforoffshorejobs.Itboastsamultilingualandcost-competitivelaborforce,well-establishedoutsourcingecosystem,attrac-

tiveregulatorylandscape,anddevelopeddigitalandphysi-calinfrastructure.However,challengesincludingpoliticalandeconomicrisksmustbemanagedtosafeguardthecountry’soutsourcingprospects.Tunisiaiswellpositionedtosupplytalentinfourareas:customerrelationshipman-agement;contentanddocumentprocessing;software/applicationsdevelopmentandintegration;andengineeringdesignandconsultingservices.

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BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUPXFORWARDMENA6

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02Introduction

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MENATALENTMAP

2.1Studycontext

ForwardMENAcollaboratedwiththeBostonConsultingGroup

(BCG)toconductthisstudyaimedatfosteringthegrowthofremoteworkecosystemsinsixdevelopingcountriesintheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica(MENA):Lebanon,Jor-dan,Iraq,Egypt,Morocco,andTunisia.

Thegoalistohelptransformthesefocuscountriesintotalenthubsofthefuture,withskilledworkforcesfullyenabledtoservelargemarkets.Studyinsightswillpro-videthesecountrieswitharoadmapforpositioningtheirworkforcesandremoteworkecosystemstoserveclientsinnearbymarketslookingtooutsourcepartsoftheirvaluechain.

Theanalysiswillapplytwolenses:

?A“supply”ortalentpoollens.Investigatingthefocuscountries’competitiveadvantages,includingworkforceavailabilityandqualifications,marketenvironment,infrastructure,regulatorylandscape,etc.toassessthecountries’potentialfortalentpoolsupplyforoffshorejobsinkeymarkets.

?A“demand”orjoboutsourcingneedslens.Iden-tifyingkeymarkets,especiallymarketsingeographical

proximitytothecountriesoffocus,wherethenumberofjobsoutsourcedissignificantandlargeopportunitiesexisttotapintothefocuscountries’workforce.

Thestudyaimstofosterthegrowthofremotejobecosys-temsinthesixMENAfocuscountries,enablingthemtosupplytalentforjobsoutsourcedinothermarketsandcountries.Itwillalsobenefitcountrieswithworkforceshort-ages,allowingthese“demandmarkets”toaccessskilledandabundanttalentwithasolidsupportingecosystem.

Thestudypromotesfocuscountries’economicgrowth.Itsrecommendationsonupskillingtoday’sworkforceandequip-pingthenextgenerationwithmuchneededskillswillexpandemploymentopportunitiesanddrivedownunemployment.

2.2Joboutsourcinginterpretations

Whatisjoboutsourcing?Interpretationsvary,basedonwhoisprovidingthedescription.Afterall,joboutsourcingreferstothebusinesspracticeofsourcing-intalentfromanoutsidepartytoperformjobfunctionsthataretraditionallyperformedin-house.

A2Dmatrix(Figure1)capturesthesedifferentinterpreta-tions,organizedbytypeofoutsourcingperformedandgeographyfromwhichtalentissourced.

Figure1-Outsourcinginterpretations

BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUPXFORWARDMENA8

Figure2-Jobclusters

Figure3-Sub-clusterbreakdown

Thisyieldsfiveinterpretationsofoutsourcing:

?Cross-borderfreelancers.Individualsprovidingservicesonapart-time,freelancebasis,viapart-timecontractsandshort-termassignments/affiliations,toselectorganizationsoutsidetheindividual’scountryofresidence.

?Cross-bordercompanybackoffices.“Internal”offic-es/departmentswithinorganizations,setupingeogra-phiesdifferentfromtheorganization’sheadoffice.

?Cross-borderindependentserviceproviders.Com-paniesutilizingtheservicesofothercompanies,viapart-timecontractsandshort-termassignments,locatedindifferentgeographies/countries.

?Withincountryfreelancers.Individualsprovidingservicesonapart-time,freelancebasis,viapart-timecontractsandshort-termassignments/affiliations,toselectorganizationswithinthefreelancer’scountryofresidence.

?Withincountryindependentserviceproviders.Companiesutilizingtheservicesofothercompanies,via

part-timecontractsandshort-termassignments,located

inthesamegeography/country.

Astheaimofthisstudyistoidentifypotentialtoestab-

lishremoteworkecosystemsinthesixfocuscountriesto

supplylabor-forcetomarketsabroad,threeinterpreta-

tionsarerelevanthere:(1)cross-borderfreelancers,(2)

cross-bordercompanybackoffices,(3)cross-borderinde-

pendentserviceproviders.

2.3Jobsandjobclusters

Onekeyaspectofthisstudyistounderstandthejobsor

functionsthateitherhavebeenfrequentlyoutsourcedor

thathavepotentialtobe.Assuch,abottom-upassessment

wasconductedstartingwith400+jobclassesleveragingthe

InternationalStandardIndustrialClassification(ISIC)and

appliedfilteringlenses(seeappendixsection12.1forfurther

details)toshortlist11jobclusterswithlargeoutsourcing

potential(whereeachclusteriscomposedofmultiplejobs).

Someoftheclusters(Figure3)werecarvedoutinto

sub-clusterstocaterfordifferencesintheirspecificities

andcharacteristics.

9

MENATALENTMAP

BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUP

XFORWARDMENA

10

03Demand:Keymarketswithlargenumberofjobsoutsourced

3.1Joboutsourcingtrends

Thepastdecadehasseenrapidlychanginglabormarketdynamics,withnewjobsconstantlybeingcreatedandothersdiminishingorevendisappearing.Keytrendsre-centlyimpactingthelabormarketinclude:

?Digitaltransformation.Thesurgeofdigitizationhashelpedcreatenewjobopportunities(Figure4),withor-ganizations’needfordigitallyskilledand“tech-enabled”employeessignificantlyrising.However,digitizationhasalsoacceleratedtheshrinkageofcertainoccupations,wherehumans’rolehasbeenmarginalized.

?Talentpoolshortage.Marketshavebeensufferinggloballyfromtalentshortages.Organizationsarenot

onlyhavingtobeartheburdenoffindingtalent,butalsoretainingit.Suchshortageshavedrivenpolicymakerstointroducemeasurestotackletheissueandtryto“fu-ture-proof”theirlocalworkforce.

?Riseofthegigeconomy.Thegigeconomyhasexpe-riencedarapidgrowth,especiallysincetheCovid-19pandemicoutbreak(Figure5).Ithasbecomeadesirablecareerpath,offeringemployeesflexibility,andopportuni-tiestotapintomicroworkandpart-timeroles.

?Upsurgeinhigh-skilledworkers.Shareofemploy-mentinhigh-skilloccupationshasincreasedinbothdevelopedanddevelopingcountries(Figure6),withagreaterdemandforworkerswhocanundertakenon-rou-tinecognitivetasks,suchashigh-skilledresearch.

Figure4-Digitizationjobopportunities

11MENATALENTMAP

Figure5-Growthingigeconomy

Figure6-Shareofemploymentindevelopingcountries

BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUPXFORWARDMENA12

Inlightofkeylaborforceshortages,globalwarfortalent,anddigitaladvancementintheworkplace,asignificantincreaseinjobsandfunctionsbeingoutsourcedtookplace.Thus,thetrendinthegrowthofdemandforoutsourcingservicesispositive,withtheglobaloutsourcingmarketexpectedtogrowataCAGRof8.5%between2021and2028(upfrom5.6%CAGRbetween2017and2021).

Outsourcingcanthenbenefitcorporationsinmultipleways:

?Costreduction.Outsourcinghastraditionallybeenoneofthemosteffectivewaysofreducingoperatingcostsandincreasevaluemargin(e.g.,costreductionthroughlaborarbitrageand/orscalability).

?Focusoncorefunctions.Outsourcingallowsorganiza-tionstodedicatetimeandfocus,makingoptimaluseofkeyresourcesanddeprioritizingnon-corefunctions(e.g.,payroll,finance,andaccounting).

?Talentpoolaccess.Outsourcinghelpsaddressskillshortagesbyallowingorganizationstodelegatetaskstoregionswheretalentsupplyismoreabundant,andgainaccesstointellectualcapital.

?Expertisedelegation.Outsourcingaddressescapabil-ityissuesandcanhelpimprovethequalityofservicestypicallydeliveredbyexperts(e.g.,expertsinprocess,quality,anddelivery).

Paralleltolabormarketchangesanddisruptions,thefutureofjoboutsourcingisgraduallyevolvingtofurthercoverthemoresophisticatedjobs,maintainitscoverageofintermedi-aryjobs,butdiminishcoverageofmainstreamjobs,espe-ciallyonesmostaffectedbydigitalizationandautomation.

Thisevolutionisdrivenbymajortrendsthathavebeenshapingtheoutsourcingmarketinrecentyears,including:

?Automationofrepetitivetasks.Automationisre-placingthelaborforceperformingrepetitivetasksandback-officefunctions.

?Upsurgeofsophistication.Outsourcinghasexpandedtoincludemoresop