With tax-free salaries and English as the business language, working in the UAE is an attractive prospect if you wish to work abroad…

Construction and oil - arguably the biggest sectors in the UAE - offer jobs to engineering and IT graduates. Graduates with science, technology, maths and engineering (STEM) subjects in particular will find work in the manufacturing and energy industries.

There is work in the commercial area of property and finance for graduates with skills and qualifications in accountancy, banking and finance and an interest in business and management.

There has also been a rise in jobs in IT, PR and publishing, while the tourism industry is also becoming more prevalent.

The regulations involving part-time employment were put into effect in 2011 and are targeting the exploitation of students by their employers, according to an official at the ministry.

In the past if a university-sponsored student over 18 wanted to work they needed to transfer their sponsorship over to the employer.

This decree on part-time student work permits was released in conjunction with the decree involving work permits for teenagers that allow those from 15 to 18 years of age the freedom to work in the UAE within strict guidelines.

Even before this decree it was found that students under the sponsorship of both schools and parents or guardians were employed part-time in temporary promotional positions that paid in cash.

Former student Ali Ahmad was involved in an employer exploitation case. He told Gulf News that many students come over to study in the UAE from abroad and need to work to make a living. According to Ahmad, many assume the UAE is similar to the western world where part-time work earns extra cash, but they wake up to the reality that to do so means undertaking it illegally and running the risk of exploitation.

Ahmad states that he is still owed nearly Dh 20,000 for the part-time work he put in at a free zone ad agency over a three-month period.

Many students end up signing temporary employment contracts that are fraudulent and fake without even realizing it, said Ahmad.

Officials at the UAE universities feel that this new decree will help to encourage employers to offer more positions to students.

Career Development Services manager Fouad Jasem of Middlesex University Dubai noted that employers used to be very hesitant to approach either students or the schools regarding part-time employment due to the legalities. Since the decree was issued Jasem has noted that many more employers are approaching the university regarding these positions.

Jasem stated that the careers department at Middlesex sees up to three postings for part-time work per day, in comparison to the internship posts that were seen only sporadically in the past. On the other hand, Mary Allison of the Canadian University of Dubai feels that this decree should cause the opportunities for student internships to grow. Allison is a Career Service officer at the university.

English is widely used by locals and in business and so day-to-day, speaking only English will be sufficient. Having a grasp of Arabic will improve your job prospects.

You will need to be sponsored by an employer to obtain a work visa. A residence permit will be issued once you have a job secured, at which point your employer can then sponsor you. To work in the UAE you need both a residence permit and a work visa.

Visas for travelling to and visiting the UAE will be issued on arrival to all UK nationals. This visa allows you to stay in the UAE for 60 days, after which, the emirate you arrived in can extend this by 30 days. You must leave the country at the end of this period.