Recruitment prospects look up for MBAs as corporates come calling

Companies working directly with B-schools plan to hire more MBAs this year than in 2015, according to a global survey report released on Wednesday by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Some 88 per cent of corporate recruiters plan to hire recent MBA graduates in 2016, up 8 percentage points from last year and up 33 percentage points from 2010, the lowest point in recent years. GMAC conducted the 15th annual survey in February and March in association with 109 participating graduate B-schools. The findings are based on responses from 842 employers, representing more than 530 companies across 40 countries. GMAC also conducted, for the first time among employers, a supplemental survey – “General Population Employer Survey”. It yielded responses from 1,282 companies in the six largest markets for graduate management education — China, France, Germany, India, the UK and the US. The results show that half of the companies responding to the supplemental survey plan to hire an MBA in 2016 — ranging from 35 per cent of companies in Germany to 70 per cent of companies in China.