The Practical Training Framework for Higher Education Students

Exceptional efforts in governance and enhancing labour market readiness

Amid the rapid transformations taking place in labour markets globally, alongside the accelerating development of technologies and required skillsets, academic education alone is no longer sufficient to prepare university graduates for the needs of economies of the future. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) has worked to develop a Practical Training Framework, positioning it as a core link between academic education and labour market needs and contributing to the preparation of students with the practical skills and experience required by vital economic sectors.

The framework forms part of a comprehensive national vision aimed at aligning higher education outcomes with labour market needs and enhancing students' future readiness, in line with the objectives of the We the UAE 2031 and UAE Centennial 2071 visions.

In this context, the Ministry issued a ministerial resolution governing the obligations of higher education institutions in the field of practical training. The resolution establishes a clear regulatory framework that ensures the quality and effectiveness of training and strengthens its integration with academic programmes and the needs of economic sectors. The framework emphasises that the educational experience is not limited to academic knowledge alone, but also includes the provision of experience of real working environments that incorporate work experience opportunities under academic and professional supervision, contributing to the development of students' skills and their readiness to integrate into the labour market.

In support of this resolution, the Ministry launched the Guide for Governance of Work Experience as a unified work experience reference for higher education institutions and students. The manual provides guidance on organising practical training in accordance with approved quality standards, defines roles and responsibilities and strengthens supervision, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, ensuring that work experience is an integral part of the educational journey.

Within the same context, the Ministry also launched the National Practical Training Platform for Higher Education Students, in partnership with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness programme, Nafis. The platform represents the first national digital system designed to organise and manage practical training through a unified digital environment. It enables university students to register for high-quality practical training opportunities, while allowing public and private entities to offer available training placements, thereby strengthening partnerships between education and the labour market.

The platform contributes to building a unified national database that supports continuous evaluation and enables higher education institutions to develop their academic and training programmes based on accurate data and clear indicators. This enhances planning efficiency and supports the alignment of educational outcomes with future labour market needs.

To ensure the optimal implementation of the new framework, the Ministry organised a series of introductory workshops for higher education institutions. These workshops aimed to explain the platform's features and usage mechanisms, review the guidance manuals, registration processes, training contract management and criteria for selecting training entities and clarify how data can be leveraged to improve the quality of educational outcomes.

The Practical Training Framework opens broad opportunities for establishing strategic partnerships between higher education institutions and various economic sectors, enabling the design of training programmes aligned with students' academic specialisations, labour market needs and quality standards that ensure an effective and integrated training experience. This approach contributes to strengthening integration between theoretical and practical learning throughout the student journey, enhancing graduate competitiveness and supplying the labour market with qualified national talent.

Accordingly, the governance framework for work experience represents a comprehensive national model that reflects the UAE's commitment to investing in human capital and building generations that possess both theoretical knowledge and work experience , and that are capable of contributing to the development of a sustainable, competitive, knowledge-based economy.

Khalfaan Mohammed Al Suwaidi

Director, Employment Support and Labour Market Partnerships

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research[AE1]