Not that long ago the accepted route to a job in senior management was via an MBA or another master’s programme, often at considerable expense and with a hefty time and study commitment. Over the past few years, however, there’s been a rethink about qualifications. Are MBAs and other business master’s still fit for purpose or would shorter, more targeted courses be better suited to a business environment changing so fast that the life expectancy of workplace skills is dropping at a rate of knots?
The World Economic Forum has already flagged that skill sets are dating rapidly, with the value of current workplace skills expected to halve within five years. Ten years from now, the experts say, maybe a quarter of current professional knowledge will still be useful. There’s already a mismatch between the skills people have and the ones they need to do their jobs, and relying on existing skills to meet future challenges is seen as a fast track to losing competitiveness not sustaining it.
What’s worth clarifying, however, is that there is a difference between the hard skills required to do specific jobs – and these are those most at risk of obsolescence due to digitalisation and the onward march of technology – and soft or personal skills that never age. AI may be the leading “must have” module on MBA programmes at the moment but also identified as vitally important is acquiring a skill that’s low or even no tech: self-confidence.
Both these facts emerged from two recent reports from higher education consulting firm Carrington Crisp in association with the European Foundation for Management Development. Carrington Crisp has been conducting these studies for a decade and for the first time this year climate change made the shortlist of topics of most interest to MBA students, together with AI and the usual fodder of business law, corporate finance and data analytics.
For those on broader business master’s courses technology subjects such as AI and ecommerce were also in demand, as were business forecasting and modelling and business ethics. However, self-confidence topped the bill as the skill students most wanted to build during their course followed by leadership, communication and critical thinking.
“With the growth of AI and digital it’s no surprise that technology subjects are in demand. However, these results are also a reminder of students’ desire to develop a strong ethical foundation and understanding for a business landscape that has several grey areas, not least because of technological advancements,” says the author of Tomorrow’s Masters Andrew Crisp.
Echoing the growing view that routes to qualifications need to be more nimble Crisp adds that the market for masters’ programmes is evolving fast. “New ways to study, new degrees and new competitors providing short courses to those already working are driving change,” he says. “Difficulties in the wider economy have created uncertainty for prospective students, leading some to question the value of a master’s degree.”
The Tomorrow’s Masters report (published last month) underlined the strong demand for flexible forms of learning, with 30 per cent of respondents interested in a qualification that offers the option of studying at a lower cost over 10 years. Masters’ and MBAs in particular are expensive, especially for full-time programmes, so footing the bill is a concern for those in the early stages of their careers and who may still have student loans outstanding. For example, the cost of tuition for an MBA at an Ivy League college in the US or some of Europe’s top flight business schools won’t leave much change out of €100,000. Closer to home, the figure is somewhere between €26,000 and €37,000 depending on the provider and course duration.
Unsurprisingly given these costs, Crisp found that people are willing to explore tuition alternatives, with 29 per cent of the survey sample (of 1,750 respondents) open to considering short, online study courses. while there was also considerable interest in “micromasters” or qualifications completed as needed rather than spending a big block of time on a traditional full-time programme.
“For employers certificates may be a better solution than master’s degrees in some cases,” Crisp says. “Staff can quickly access the skills they need today rather than a degree acquired over a longer period with some content that might not be relevant. The cost is less and the ROI potentially greater.”
Crisp adds that a certificate acquired at a leading educational institution still carries weight and also points out that in the IT sector certificates, often with a corporate brand such as Microsoft, Google, or Cisco attached, already make a significant contribution to corporate learning and development. “With many sectors now having a growing digital component to their work the demand for short course non-degree study is set to grow,” he says.
Also changing, according to the Tomorrow’s Masters report, is how people want to learn post-Covid. There has been a marked drop in the preference for blended and fully online learning, with almost half the students included in the research favouring a return to full-time in-person courses. In last year’s report nearly 60 per cent of respondents were considering studying most or all of their master’s online. This year that figure has dropped to 52 per cent. In terms of what makes students choose one course or provider over another, the deciding factors identified by Crisp are value for money, teaching quality, a strong employment record among alumni post-graduation and academic reputation.
