Dubai, Oct 19 (Khaleej Times): Good news for thousands of companies in the city's many free zones and students in about two dozen academic institutes. A change in regulation allows firms in nine Dubai free zones to hire 26,000 students enrolled in universities licensed by Dubai Creative Clusters Authority (DCCA).

The DCCA yesterday announced the launch of a regulation that now enables more than 4,500 businesses to offer part-time jobs to 26,000 university students across the emirate's nine free zone creative clusters.

The authority is the region's first governmental free zone regulator to enable businesses under its jurisdiction to access talent.

The Student Part-time Work Regulation will allow creative talent to gain critical industry experience to complement their fields of study and increase their employment prospects post-graduation.

"The Student Part-time Work Regulation will anchor the nation's ranking, making it easier for organisations in the creative clusters to attract and retain talent. We are committed to driving the leadership's vision of the emirate as a leading hub for global innovation," said Ahmed bin Byat, Director-General of DCCA.

The regulation is designed to bridge the knowledge-skills gap identified by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as being a challenge across the Arab world. According to the Qudarat Wave III study conducted by Aon Hewitt in 2016, 57 per cent of local organisations cite a lack of availability of talent with the necessary qualifications as being a key barrier to recruiting in the UAE.

"In both the short and long term, this initiative will help ensure a volume of qualified and work-ready young professionals," said Ali BuRuhaima, Deputy Director-General of DCCA.

The regulation will enable businesses licensed by DCCA to access a valuable new stream of talent and will, ultimately, ensure a well-rounded, educated and skilled workforce. Furthermore, it will give SMEs, which account for approximately 60 per cent of private sector employment in the world, the flexibility to build capacity for short term projects with a more cost-effective recruitment model.

"We are excited about this new regulation that will allow our 23 universities to attract the brightest and the best talent from around the world. Several knowledge hubs in North America and Europe already allow students to work while they study and so with this initiative Dubai further moves towards becoming a global education powerhouse," said Mohammed Abdullah, managing director of Dubai International Academic City (DIAC).

The 'Earn while you Learn' campaign will allow students enrolled in universities licensed by DCCA, primarily located within Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Park, to work in a number of industries including ICT, media, entertainment, human capital development, education, life sciences, energy, environment, fashion, design and outsourcing.