The year 2016 is going to be another strong year for MBA job-seekers as three in four employers plan to hire MBAs in the New Year. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) recently released the findings of its 2015 Yearend Poll of Employers, which reveal solid 2015 hiring numbers and robust 2016 hiring projections that reflect a continued healthy demand for recent graduates of master-level business programs.
Among the survey’s other findings, ninety-six per cent of responding employers agree that hiring business school graduates creates value for their companies and 68 per cent agree that recruiting graduates of MBA and business master’s programmes is a priority in their company’s hiring plans.
“Employer demand for graduate management talent is projected to remain strong in 2016 for MBAs and other master’s-level business candidates,” said Bob Alig, GMAC’s executive vice president for school products. “Recent graduates from business and management programmes should see high demand for their skills because employers understand that they are valuable assets to their organisations.”
Findings represent survey responses from 179 recruiters across 159 companies of varying sizes and industry sectors located in 31 countries or regions worldwide. A majority of the employers participating in this year’s survey indicate that they will be striving towards improving performance and productivity, expanding their customer base and launching new products and services; and less focused on overcoming economic challenges and cutting costs than in recent years.
A greater share of employers intend to hire graduates of Masters of Accounting and Masters in Management programmes in 2016. In addition, 73 per cent of responding employers plan to offer internships to MBA candidates in 2016 — GMAC surveys have indicated that internships remain one of the most successful ways for master’s-level business school graduates to receive job offers. Ninety-two per cent of the responding employers that offered MBA internships in 2015 plan to increase (26 per cent) or maintain (66 per cent) the number of MBA internship openings in 2016.
These positive developments echo what recent business school graduates say about the value of their degrees. In a September 2015 GMAC poll of recent graduates, a vast majority of alumni from the class of 2015 said their graduate management degree helped prepare them for the job market. In fact, three to four months after graduation, full-time two-year MBA alumni in the class of 2015 reported an employment rate of 91 per cent — five percentage points greater than the class of 2014 reported in September 2014.
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is a non-profit organisation of 213 leading graduate business schools world over. It owns the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), used by more than 6,100 graduate programmes worldwide, along with other products designed to help students find, connect, and apply and gain admittance to business and management programmes around the world. They also own and administer NMAT exam, for entrance into graduate business and management programmes in India.