11 firms from defense, finance, electronics and accounting sectors take part
48 job seekers, 66 interviews conducted; resume coaching provided
![KOTRA held the 2026 Middle East Job Fair in Dubai, UAE, on Saturday (local time). Kim Jun-gyu, head of KOTRA's Middle East regional headquarters, delivers opening remarks at the event. [KOTRA]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/31/news-p.v1.20260831.3a019fb7071a4b7fad8041f16682fcd9_P1.jpg)
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) held the 2026 Middle East Job Fair in Dubai, UAE, on Saturday (local time), the agency announced Tuesday.
The UAE serves as a leading logistics and financial hub in the Middle East, and Korean companies have been steadily expanding into the country across high-value sectors including defense, finance, accounting and electronics. The South Korea-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which entered into force in May, further strengthened the institutional framework supporting trade and investment between the two countries. The development has raised expectations that demand for talent from local firms — and job opportunities for Korean youth — will continue to grow.
Korean and Korean-affiliated companies operating in the UAE have particularly been seeking Korean staff who can communicate smoothly with headquarters back home while based locally. KOTRA organized the event to directly connect those employers with Korean job seekers hoping to work abroad.
Eleven companies with operations in the UAE — spanning defense, finance, electronics and accounting — took part alongside 48 young job seekers. The fair featured company recruitment presentations, one-on-one interviews between employers and candidates, a UAE employment mentoring seminar, and individual resume and interview coaching sessions led by global human resources professionals.
Video interviews were also offered for job seekers unable to attend in person due to the US-Iran war, allowing candidates based in South Korea and other countries to interview with UAE-based companies remotely. A total of 66 one-on-one interviews were conducted throughout the day.
Participants also received information on UAE labor law and employment contracts — areas requiring particular attention during the local job search process. Ha Ji-won, a legal adviser at Al Tamimi & Co., urged job seekers to verify contract duration, salary and benefits in writing before signing any employment agreement, and to familiarize themselves with key labor regulations including probationary periods and notice periods upon resignation. She also introduced the official dispute resolution process available through the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
Members of the UAE K-Move overseas employment mentoring group shared their experiences of finding work and settling in the country. Global HR professionals provided individual coaching on resume writing and interview techniques.
One job seeker who attended said she had been interested in working in the Middle East but worried the US-Iran war might reduce local hiring opportunities. "Meeting HR managers in person and learning about the job market and the skills they're looking for — along with the resume coaching — gave me a much clearer sense of how to prepare," she said.
Kim Jun-gyu, head of KOTRA's Middle East regional headquarters, said Korean companies are consistently expanding their presence in Dubai, particularly in high-value sectors such as defense, finance and IT, and that the CEPA's entry into force is expected to drive further growth in Korean talent placement there. "We will go beyond on-site job support and strengthen post-event matching and settlement support programs for those who secure employment," he said.
The Middle East job fair is part of KOTRA's K-Move project supporting overseas employment for Korean youth. Following the Dubai event, KOTRA plans to hold similar recruitment fairs connecting local employers with Korean job seekers in Vietnam in October and Singapore in November.
eyre@heraldcorp.com
