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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between female undergraduate student participation in a university-sponsored employment skills development program and employment post-graduation. Design/methodology/approach – From historical institutional data a random sample was analyzed using the logistic regression model. The main variable investigated was participation in the World of Work (WOW) program during undergraduate study. It was hypothesized that participation would contribute positively to the probability of employment after graduation. Findings – Grade point average at the time of graduation was also expected to have a positive relationship with employability. The study found that those who participated in the WOW program while undergraduates were more 6.7 times more likely to find post-graduate employment than non-participants. Research limitations/implications – Data were collected at a single institution as such findings may not be generalizable. Practical implications – This study provides support for the inclusion of employability training at the tertiary level and provides evidence to support resourcing such initiatives. Social implications – The study supports the development of work-ready, nationals and to supplying the UAE economy with needed human capital, in particular the goal of Emiratization. Originality/value – This study is of one of very few in the Arabian Gulf region to examine employability factors of university graduates.

Purpose This purpose of this paper is to assess information technology (IT) disaster recovery plans (DRPs) in publicly listed companies on Abu Dhabi securities exchange (ADX) in the United Arab Emirates. The authors assessed, among other things, DRP preparedness, documentation, employees’ preparedness and awareness and the most significant physical and logical risks that pose the most threads to drive the development of the DRP, etc. Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed publicly listed companies on the ADX using a questionnaire adapted from past research papers as well as from audit programs published by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. The surveys were completed through interviews with middle and senior management familiar with their firm’s IT practices. Findings The majority of the respondents reported having a DRP, and a significant number of the respondents reported that their top management were extremely committed to their DRP. Employees were generally aware of their role and the existence of the DRP. The greatest risk/threat to their organization’s IT system was logical risk followed closely by power and network connectivity loss as the second highest physical risk. The most highly ranked consequence of an IT disaster was loss of confidence in the organization. Research limitations/implications Because this paper only examined publicly listed companies on ADX, the research results may lack generality. Therefore, further research is needed in this area for determining the extent of the deployment of the DRP in the region. Practical implications Results of this paper could be used for IT DRP planning bench-marking purposes. Originality/value This paper adds value to research by investigating the current IT DRP practices by public companies listed on ADX.

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