His Excellency Minister of Labor attends graduation ceremony for first group of Microsoft 'Intaleq' interns

Microsoft launched the 'Intaleq' project in the United Arab Emirates in September 2006 to empower young and talented UAE nationals with real work experience, and to offer them the chance to realize their full potential.

"We always encourage global companies such as Microsoft to invest in the local community," Said His Excellency Dr. Ali Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Labor. "The Intaleq program has helped many young nationals integrate successfully into the private sector and I am pleased to be part of the graduation ceremony of the very first group."

The program works through agreements signed between Microsoft and major universities around the United Arab Emirates, whereby top students in their last year of university are recommended for the program and then interviewed by Microsoft in order for them to select the most deserving of the students.

"As a global technology company we have a responsibility to use our resources to help the communities we operate in," said Charbel Fakhoury, General Manager, Microsoft Gulf. "Microsoft is committed to working with the government to help reduce unemployment of UAE nationals and drive the local economy even further, and this is the objective behind Intaleq."

The six month long internship program has given the participating students a hands-on experience in the cut throat private sector, allowing them to develop their technical and soft skills training, such as communication, sales, and project management skills.

"I had no idea what a great impact this program would have on my life when I first joined." Said Yousef Al-Mehrezi; an Intaleq intern who secured a full time job at Microsoft after completing the internship program, "I learnt about the real business world through projects assigned to me, interacting with customers, and training courses that I was given."

The five graduating interns worked closely with assigned Microsoft personnel in the Developer and Platform Evangelism Group, the Human Resources department, Enterprise and Partner Group (EPG), Services Group, and the Microsoft Information Technology Group (ITG).

The initiative proved to be so successful that the Emirati National Development Program (ENDP) will be collaborating with Microsoft for the selection of the next batch of "Intaleq" interns as they learn key tactics that will have a significant impact on the their future while they seek full time positions, strengthened by their six month-long training.