More than 1,500 graduates of MBA, executive MBA and masters in management programs responded to a survey for the FT’s 2014 European business school rankings, 70% of whom are based in Europe.
Of those who said they were affected by the economic downturn, 67% cited fewer job vacancies, 41% reduced opportunities for promotion and 36% loss of earnings or bonuses. And 13% were made redundant.
The findings reveal how much of an impact the crisis that the Eurozone is still struggling to recover from has had on graduate opportunities.
Many European business schools say they saw a drop in applications to their postgraduate programs during the onset of the economic crash.
Pejay Belland, director of admissions at INSEAD which has a campus in Europe, said: “The continued economic uncertainty in Europe has certainly played a role in the decrease in applications that many schools have experienced… As the recession continued applicants became more risk-averse and were less likely to leave their jobs to embark on an MBA.” He did not suggest INSEAD had experienced a fall in applications.
While most have said they are now seeing an increase in MBA candidates, the chilling results of the latest poll suggest that the jobs market may not have hit its pre-recession level yet.
As such, a third of graduates based in Europe would consider a move to another country within a year to further their careers, according to the FT survey.
This reflects the growing appetite for international careers among European MBA students, the majority of whom enrol in internationally diverse classes to better prepare themselves for the onset of globalization.
North America has been the number-one destination for most managers but several markets outside of the west, including China, Singapore and Australia, have expanding education sectors which are slowly luring more European students who are disillusioned by the EU’s weak economic growth.
Ivan Vostrikov, a Russian national who is studying an MBA at CEIBS in Shanghai, said: “Europe’s current crises, with economies such as Spain and Italy near bankruptcy, made me think twice about doing an MBA in Europe. The fast-paced development of China and Asia makes this the perfect place to learn first-hand about how to do business in the new economy, as opposed to the old economy.”
However, 77% of survey respondents said their business schools had helped them deal with the slowdown. They said the skills and knowledge gleaned from their studies – and the job prospects afforded by their degrees – gave them a competitive edge.
Upon graduation, 40% of respondents said their business schools continued to offer careers support, including more training and access to networking events.
Despite ongoing economic strife, 72% of graduates remain positive about their short-term career prospects and 50% of the group expect the economic outlook to improve.
Many European business schools have begun to roar back into applicants’ focus as economies have slowly rebounded.
Santiago Garcia, director of recruitment and admissions at Grenoble Ecole de Management in France, said: “The worst of the European economic crisis might now be over, and candidates start seeing not only the global opportunities a prestigious degree will give them, but also the possibilities in the countries where they get their degree.”
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