More than 400 university students across the UAE have already started workplace training through a new national platform built to link higher education with real jobs, and hundreds more are lined up to follow in the next semester.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) announced on Monday that 1,030 students have now registered on the National Work Experience Platform. Of those, 414 are in active training, while 616 more are expected to begin placements next semester based on schedules running through June and July 2026.
What the platform is
The National Work Experience Platform is a single digital hub that connects universities with employers in both the public and private sectors. Students use it to browse and apply for structured work placements, while universities and training providers use it to set up, manage, and monitor those programmes.
It was launched in partnership with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, known as Nafis. The platform sits within the wider Nafis system, which helps build a shared national database of work experience activity and ties the effort to preparing Emirati talent for the job market.
54 universities, 45 companies
According to the ministry, 54 higher education institutions have now joined the platform. On the employer side, 45 companies have contributed a combined 740 training opportunities, spread across a range of sectors and specialisations.
That spread matters for students. Instead of searching for placements on their own, students can find openings tied to their field of study in one place, with the assurance that each opportunity meets a set standard.
A focus on quality placements
MoHESR said every opportunity offered through the platform follows the standards set out in the Ministerial Resolution that governs work experience in the UAE. The aim is to make sure placements are properly structured and genuinely useful, rather than informal or loosely organised.
Khalfan Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Director of the Employment Support and Labour Market Partnerships Department at MoHESR, said the rising number of universities and companies taking part points to a wider shift in how both groups view work experience. He described the platform as a unified national framework that gives students a more organised path into the workforce, and said the ministry is working with its partners to widen participation and add opportunities that match what the labour market actually needs.
He added that the goal is to give students placements that build real skills and improve their readiness for a career, closing the distance between what they learn in class and how that knowledge applies on the job.
Why it matters for students
For UAE university students, the platform turns a common frustration into a clearer process. Finding relevant, well-run work experience has often depended on personal contacts or luck. A central system backed by the ministry, with vetted employers and defined standards, lowers that barrier.
With 616 placements already scheduled for the coming semester, the platform’s reach looks set to keep growing. For students weighing how to spend their summer or planning ahead for the next academic year, it is worth checking which opportunities match their programme.
Source: https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/how-a-new-uae-platform-is-giving-hundreds-of-students-from-54-universities-real-work-experience-1.500544570
