Purpose Employability skills of university graduates remain an ongoing topic for discussion and debate. Numerous studies highlight the expressed concerns of governments and industries about higher education’s ability to develop workforce ready graduates. An often cited solution is the use of internships to equip students with necessary employability skills. The purpose of this paper is to assess the status of employability skills from the perspective of students within a United Arab Emirates (UAE) institution based on their completion of a half-semester-long work placement experience. Design/methodology/approach Using a largely qualitative instrument, students reflected on their internship experience to report the essential skills needed in the workplace, classroom activities that most prepared them to use such skills in the workplace and the various challenges they encountered as interns. Findings Overall, students attributed a degree of importance to all skills addressed in the study with the greatest importance being attached to communication, teamwork and time management. Students indicated that most skills were addressed in the classroom; however, there appears to be a lack of awareness in the areas of critical thinking, self-management, intercultural skills and taking initiative. Research limitations/implications The present study only addressed the perceptions of business students at one all-female UAE-based institution of higher learning. Therefore, the data collected may not be representative of students enrolled in other degree programs or institutions. However, the understanding of these participants’ experiences adds to the body of literature featuring business undergraduate work experiences – particularly for the UAE and Gulf region. Practical implications Implications for academic and professional practitioners are discussed. Findings and recommendations are informative for curriculum development as well as economic and workforce development agencies. Originality/value The literature is well documented with studies from the perspectives of multiple entities including employers and university faculty, mostly in the western world. Fewer studies examine the perception of students, and even fewer studies are based on students in the UAE and other Gulf countries.

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