As many as 87 per cent of corporate recruiters said they are either highly confident (36 per cent) or confident (52 per cent) in the ability of business schools to prepare students to be successful in their organizations, the GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey 2022 summary report stated. It added that hiring projections of graduate management education (GME) graduates remain bullish this year, with 92 per cent of corporate recruiters expecting to hire newly minted MBAs.
“Nearly 9 out of 10 corporate recruiters feel confident or highly confident in the ability of business schools to prepare students to be successful in their organisations. That’s an extraordinary figure,” said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC.
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“It shows that despite the pandemic and the limitations it brought on student mobility, public and mental health, and remote learning, business schools managed to find ways to build an impressive cohort whom corporate recruiters and staffing agencies worldwide continue to bank on as prime sources for talent,” Chowfla added.
Two in three corporate recruiters describe the current direction of their organisation as expanding or growing (67 per cent) and a similar proportion plan to increase their overall headcount (65 per cent). As many as 63 per cent of the respondent recruiters project that demand for new business school talent will increase in the next five years, with business master’s hiring intention the highest among recruiters for east and southeast Asia and middle east companies.
Meanwhile, as per the India Skill Report 2022, less than half or 46.2 per cent of students are employable in 2022. While this is a rise, it is still less than the pre-pandemic numbers. In 2019, a total of 47.38 per cent of Indian talent was employable. Most employable students are from BTech or BE degrees. As many as 55.15 per cent of students who clear BE, BTech are employable followeed by MBA, the report stated.
Among the other major findings in the GMAC report, MBA starting salaries continue to provide a premium and business master’s median starting salaries are on the rise. Median MBA starting salary levels eclipse those being offered to bachelor’s graduates by 22 per cent to 40 per cent across the world. Median starting salaries are largest in the United States, with US$115,000.
In a likely response to combat the effect of inflation, corporate recruiters look to benefits packages—including educational assistance—to meet the changing needs of new graduates. Educational assistance like tuition reimbursement and scholarships has become an increasingly common benefit, with 54 per cent offering it in 2022, up from 35 per cent last year.
The highest percentage of recruiters affirming that they plan to hire international candidates this year are the middle east (52 per cent) and western Europe (40 per cent). In the United States, 56 per cent of the recruiters say that they either plan to make international hires this year (35 per cent) or are willing to (21 per cent).
Global corporate recruiters appear to be becoming more accepting of online degrees, reveals the survey. The percentage of global recruiters who view graduates of online and in-person GME programmes increased from 34 per cent in 2021 to 60 per cent in 2022, suggesting a significant growth in the acceptance of online programmes.
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