Synopsis

Global employers maintain strong faith in MBA graduates, with over half believing business degrees are more crucial than ever as technology advances. While AI's impact is acknowledged, human skills like communication and adaptability are highly valued. However, a growing concern among recruiters is a perceived decline in professionalism among recent graduates, impacting perceptions across various industries.

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New Delhi: Employers across the globe continue to have confidence in MBA degrees amid concerns whether artificial intelligence (AI) would make business school graduates redundant, according to a new report by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

The report is based on an annual survey of global corporate recruiters by GMAC, known for conducting the GMAT exam and an umbrella body of leading business schools from across the globe.

Across industries, more than half of employers agreed or strongly agreed that a graduate business degree is more important than ever as businesses adopt new technologies. However, one area of common concern being flagged by employers, which has grown harder to ignore, is professionalism.

The survey drew responses from 621 recruiters and hiring managers across 39 countries, just over half of them at Global Fortune 500 companies, among the world's largest by revenue.

Everyone reported at least some confidence in graduate management education, the umbrella term for MBA and the shorter, more specialised business master's degrees in fields such as finance, management and data analytics.

"In 2025, 99 per cent of employers expressed at least some degree of confidence in GME's ability to prepare graduates to be successful in their organisations. In 2026, not one respondent indicated they have no confidence, revealing the enduring value that employers believe GME provides to industry," the report said.

When asked why they are confident in GME graduates, employers were found much more likely to cite the ability to handle the complex global business environment.

"In fact, this grew from the seventh to the most common reason employers selected, with nearly three-quarters of respondents appreciating GME graduates' capacity to thrive amid global complexity in 2026. The sizeable year-over-year growth was true regardless of an employer's region or industry.

"Though the capability to handle complex global environments was the only statistically significant change, there were some small declines in confidence attributed to several of the core business school skills discussed previously, such as communication and strategic thinking skills," it said.

The report cited employers' opinion that in an era when AI can generate content, analyse data, and automate routine tasks, the distinctly human capabilities of communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence have become harder to replicate-and, therefore, more valuable.

"For business schools, the most pressing implication is not simply that programs should teach AI skills (though that gap is real and growing). It is that schools must prepare graduates to operate with confidence at the intersection of technological fluency and human judgment," it said.

"More than half of global employers agreed that the skills gained through a business degree are more important than before for businesses that are now using remote or hybrid work, particularly in the technology, manufacturing, and healthcare and pharmaceutical industries," it added.

Even as employer confidence in GME remains strong overall, one area of concern has grown harder to ignore - professionalism.

"Employers were asked whether today's GME graduates demonstrate the same level of professionalism (defined in the survey as reliability, respectfulness, accountability and professional appearance) as graduates from previous years, and the results point to a meaningful shift in perception. Among all respondents, there was a statistically significant decline in the number of employers who thought today's GME graduates demonstrated the same level of professionalism as graduates from previous years," the report said.

"Though the year-over-year differences by industry and region are within the margin of error, the decline was seen across sectors (excluding products and services), with technology employers still the most satisfied with today's graduates - workplace etiquette and consulting and manufacturing employers the least satisfied," it added.