If you are an expatriate, as soon as you start working in one of the Gulf region countries (GCC), you become fast aware of the "localization of positions" terms - an issue that was discussed in great details in Mohammad Al Athel (Amsa Hospitality' Founder & CEO) recent post.
Many companies see GCC countries localization of positions policies somehow as a complicated challenge. We, at Amsa Hospitality see it as an opportunity!
A May 2022 Colliers International report , that covers both the UAE and Saudi Arabia hospitality job market, mentions that "a proportion of Saudis are looking to jump directly into managerial roles without the correct training or experience.
This issue largely stems from the fact that the Saudi talent pool sees technical and junior-level positions as giving them a 'low social status'.”
In fact, most - if not all - hospitality jobs are very technical, and as Amsa Hospitality' President of Hospitality, Denis Sorin, recently mentioned in an interview to The Emirates Times: "Even if you come from the best hospitality school in the world [...], don’t be shy to work hard and prove yourself first at Rank & File positions. It will make you a better manager and decision maker.” Denis explained that he himself started to work as a restaurant busboy (there is no lower position than that!), and worked his way up to CEOs and President positions.
This is the reason why I said earlier that we see localizations of positions challenges as great opportunities: Amsa Hospitality is all about bringing "centuries-old Arabian traditions of welcoming and generosity to today's world". To succeed, we need the best trained Arab hoteliers to manage our teams wherever in the world our hotels are located. To become the best Arabian hoteliers, like the Colliers report says (and Denis Sorin career proves), they need to acquire hospitality-specific knowledges and skills starting from Rank & File all the way up to top managerial positions. There is no shame in that: Only reasons to be proud.