Scholarship Offers, Internships: How Ru'ya Careers Exhibition Helps UAE Youth

The Ru'ya Careers Exhibition is opening doors for university students and graduates, serving as an early platform for career and training opportunities that can shape their future.

Several entities participated by offering pre-employment training opportunities to high school and university students, helping them gain valuable experience. Several schools also visited the exhibition, allowing their students to learn more about these training opportunities.

Ru'ya is a leading career exhibition and empowerment forum for Emirati youth, and its 24th edition began on Tuesday at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

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The three-day event brings together 180 public and private sector organisations to offer Emiratis direct access to job opportunities, transformative workshops, and skills development experiences designed to prepare them for the future of work.

During the exhibition, Khaleej Times spoke with several organisations and students about the opportunities and expectations.

Ahmed Al Qassim, Vice President of Talent Management at DP World GCC, stated that the company offers four programs for graduates. The first Program, called Ruwad, is designed for fresh university graduates, who are trained for one year in both practical and technical skills across a wide range of disciplines, including engineering, finance, and many others.

He added that, in addition to Ruwad, there is also a summer programme called Bedaya.

“We are committed to welcoming around 70 nationals in this programme from universities and schools, starting from the age of 15,” he said. The summer training lasts for one month, during which students are introduced to the different fields in which the company operates.

The third programme, the Forsa Internship programme, is run in coordination with universities and hosts over a 100 students who receive internships in their respective fields of study. The fourth program,“Tumoohi,” lasts for six months in specific areas, including logistics.

Manal Matar, Head of Employee Experience & HR Digitalisation (Acting), du, told Khaleej Times that the company offers several training opportunities aimed at empowering youth.“We have multiple programmes. One of them is ExploreX, which targets high school students. This is a newly revamped programme focused on Grade 12 students,” she said.

The programme includes training courses designed to develop, nurture, and prepare them for university and professional life. She also highlighted ExperienceX, which targets third- and fourth-year university students to prepare them for the workplace.

According to her, programmes go beyond training to direct employment:“We have a program called FutureX, which targets fresh graduates. It lasts for one full year with intensive training, and students are also sent to partner organisations for additional training. What makes this programme unique is that after completion, vacancies are available for them in the company.”

Hesham Ali Mustafa, Managing Director of Shared Services Center, Group Human Resources & New Business Development at ENOC, spoke about the Technical Training Programme, which trains high school graduates for two years, partly outside the UAE in the GCC and partly within the country at ENOC's refinery.“The training lasts for one year abroad, followed by one year locally,” he said.

For university graduates, the company offers opportunities for direct placement after six months of training, along with competitive salaries and benefits that are performance-based.

Students who visited the exhibition confirmed that the experience helped them form a clearer picture of their future.

Sheikha, a student from Al Thameed School in Sharjah, said she had expected to find universities offering specialised majors.“Although I was expecting universities, I discovered many training opportunities that will give me valuable experience,” she said.

She added that her plan has changed after visiting the exhibition; instead of going directly to university, she now prefers to train first or combine training with her studies.

Her classmate Fatima said she, too, had initially thought the exhibition was only for universities.“My perspective changed after seeing the benefits of training. I now want to join a training programme first and then continue my university studies. I don't mind combining both if I can,” she said.

Sameer Rami Al Qudra, a student from Elite School residing in Sharjah, said he attended the exhibition in search of scholarships in the field of mechatronics, a multidisciplinary field combining electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science, similar to robotics but broader in scope.

He connected with several universities, including Canadian University Dubai (CUD) and Abu Dhabi University, where he received detailed information about available majors and scholarships.

He said the exhibition met his expectations:“I received scholarship offers with discounts and attractive packages, and also learned about opportunities in both companies and universities."

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