Employment opportunities (stage 3)

Development and training of the UAE's youth is a major focus of Government policy. With over half of the UAE's citizens under 18 years of age, there is an urgent need to create new employment opportunities. This is coupled with a recognition that high quality training is essential if the country's growth is to continue. Besides conventional training opportunities in institutes of higher education, industry-based training is growing rapidly in the oil industry and in organizations like telecommunications firm Etisalat, Emirates Airline and the Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company, GAMCO, the largest dedicated overhaul facility in the region. The Abu Dhabi-based Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training, CERT, provides channel through which modern technological skills can be transferred to the UAE, through joint venture training arrangements with leading international academic institutions and industrial corporation. A special Cabinet Manpower Committee supervises the development of the UAE's human resources, with the objectives of maximizing local employment and reducing dependence on expatriate labor.

Business-to-consumer e-commerce (stage 4)

By far, the retail sector is the biggest e-commerce user in the UAE. A survey conducted by the Emirates Bank Group in early 2000 revealed that more than 14 percent of companies are conducting business, in some capacity, over the Internet. The same study suggested that almost 42 percent of companies intend to have fully functional e-commerce capability by 2001. Although recent statistics are not available, the estimates expected that by the year (2010) somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of companies will have e-commerce capabilities. The banking and investments sector is the most significant business to adopt e-commerce. Most of the banking institute and the stock market provide internet channels for the customers to complete their needs. They provide online bill paying and trading for the stock market.

Business-to-business e-commerce (stage 4)

On 20 June 2000, a major business-to-business portal was established by the UAE government. This service is for all business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce transactions in the UAE. It is owned and operated completely by the Government of Dubai and is an Oracle-based system. The Dubai government has said that it intends to make all future purchases through it. Tejari "trade in English" is the world-class Business to Business (B2B) Marketplace, connecting companies to buy and sell goods and services online. It covers a wide range of commodities including oil and gas, construction, pharmaceuticals, automotive and spare parts, electronics, office equipment, stationery, fast-moving consumer goods, and food and services. This portal has quickly become the premier digital marketplace in the Middle East. It is opened to serve all businesses and industries globally and it is not limited to only citizen businessmen. One of the primary attractions to using this system for B2B is that it does not require proprietary hardware or software like many similar programs. In fact, in order to encourage multiple users from multiple disciplines, the system uses the common Internet standard Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Transactions are encrypted using a 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer. Because of the high level of security, the system becomes very popular in a short amount of time. A small subscriber fee is required to become a member of the system network. Another significant change is that the billing pay and some other services through banks or other financial institutes directly reflected on the other business systems.

E-government (stage 4)

Overall internet penetration in the UAE was estimated at around 40% in 2006, far above the MENA (Middle East North Africa) average, reflecting the Emirates’ status as one of the most advanced IT countries in the region. In terms of e-government development, phases to be introduced in the project last year include e-portal, e-project, the HR Management System (HRMS) and the Financial Management Integration System (FMIS) projects. The e-government High Committee has expressed satisfaction with the progress made on implementation of the e-government initiative to date. Another interesting development in terms of e-government is the use of e-commerce solutions by the Dubai Ports and Customs. On 27 June 2000, the Dubai Ports and Customs launched E-Mirsal. It is the first e-government, e-commerce solution that allows agents, shippers, transport companies, and other cargo businesses to process customs clearing documents and payments via the Internet.