This post was originally published by Karla Dorsch, Founder and Managing Partner Evrima / AltoPartners Abu Dhabi, on LinkedIn. To view the original post, click here.

Let’s start in Saudi Arabia.

Think of the market like a music festival. The headliners have played, the lights are still dazzling, but the crowd knows the encore won’t last forever. Demand is still strong, make no mistake, but the frenzy is cooling. Leaders finally see the stage clearly: hiring is tough, talent is scarce, but the hype of record highs is giving way to something even more useful, focus.

Now, shift your attention to the UAE.

This isn’t a music festival. This is Formula 1. The track is crowded with global talent, engines are roaring, and the real disruption is in the pit lane: AI. It’s not just tinkering with the car, it’s redesigning the whole race. Legal departments? Downsized. Customer service? Reinvented. Sales teams? Rewired. This isn’t the future. It’s now. By 2026, the speed only goes up.

But here’s the plot twist: when machines take over tasks, they don’t end the story, they write a new chapter. And our job in search? Find the people who can race alongside the machines, not get lapped by them. The innovators. The builders. The people who thrive on change.

And let’s talk about demand. It’s not vanishing, it’s exploding. Real estate is booming. Construction is roaring. Manufacturing is back. Tourism is scaling like never before. These industries don’t just need workers; they need visionaries, navigators, dreamers who can build the next skyline, the next factory, the next destination.

And then there’s localisation. Governments are cranking up the pressure, but the smartest companies? They’re turning that pressure into jet fuel. National talent isn’t just a compliance box. It’s a loyalty engine. It’s reputation. It’s alignment with the very future of economies. That’s not a burden, it’s a competitive edge.

So, what’s the shape of 2026?

• Realism in Saudi Arabia: the market sobering up and getting smarter.

• Recalibration in the UAE: AI rewriting the DNA of entire functions.

• Resilience in industries that refuse to slow down.

• Reinvention through localisation: where national talent becomes the X-factor.

And here’s the punchline: when markets shift, when leaders panic, when talent pools change overnight, that’s when we’re most valuable. We’re not just filling jobs. We’re shaping the future of work in one of the most dynamic regions on earth.