What do companies look for in postgraduate courses for executives?

The data is overwhelming, as employers around the world plan to increase investments in executive training and education during 2022. Especially it is a year in which the themes are directed towards leadership, diversity and digital transformation, according to a survey conducted by the Financial Times of managers in the fields of HR and training.

More than 37% of organizations surveyed planned between one and five executive learning programs with third-party providers during 2022, and another 11% planned between six and 20 courses

 

The data shows that more than 56% of the 142 CLO (Chief Learning Officer) surveyed expected more important budgets in 2022, with the answers of 33% of the respondents that their investments were going to remain stable and just under 9% that they were going to make cuts of these games.

The figures suggest a redoubled commitment to learning in the wake of Covid, at a time when training is seen as important for growth through upgrading and as a tool to recruit and retain senior staff.

More than 37% of organizations surveyed planned between one and five executive learning programs with third-party providers during 2022, and another 11% planned between six and 20 courses.

Which are the learning priorities demanded by companies for 2022?

What are the learning priorities demanded by companies for 2022?
Digital transformation, digital skills and sustainability were top priorities for the organizations’ training divisions.

The training most cited by respondents

The most important topic for training, cited by almost three quarters, was leadership, followed by diversity and inclusion and digital transformation, both mentioned by more than half of the respondents.

Other popular topics were change management, innovation, digital skills, strategy and data science, with more than a third each. Interest in sustainability increased from 23% when CLOs were surveyed in 2021 to 31% this year, ahead of wellness and resilience.

Reflecting the increased use of technology, lower costs and greater convenience of hybrid learning since Covid-19, three-quarters of executive courses in organizations are now conducted online, with at least 50%. However, the interaction between the participants is still important. Respondents said that 66% of courses this year would be taught online synchronously, studying at the same time, or using blended online and in-person instruction. Just over 20% of the courses will continue to be purely face-to-face.

Reflecting the increased use of technology, lower costs and greater convenience of hybrid learning since Covid-19, three-quarters of executive courses in organizations are now conducted online, with at least 50% 

 

Blended learning, which combines online and face-to-face study, represents the largest segment

Most of the respondents were heads of leadership development, human resources directors, learning directors, or had similar titles. 40% represented organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees; almost 20% had more than 20,000.

Respondents were from education, finance, banking, industry, healthcare, consulting, and telecommunications/IT ​​sectors, among others. More than 60% were responsible for personnel in Europe; 40% supervised employees in North America; and almost 20% part in the Middle East, Central America, Latin America and Africa.

The majority of respondents said their learning budgets were focused on middle managers or functional heads, who were set to receive more than a quarter of the spend. 20% was allocated to senior managers and emerging leaders, and 14% percent to C-suite executives.

Much of the executive education spending of companies is focused on middle management

Most “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed with the statements that in the past two years they had been able to bring learning “broader and deeper” into their organization, and were more aligned than in the past with the needs specific business and strategic initiatives.

Similar proportions said executive development would become more personalized and self-paced, with the ability to personalize considered the highest-ranked quality of a provider by 46% of respondents.

Many CLOs emphasized that they were reconsidering eligibility for executive development, with a greater focus on including those identified through personal development and succession planning programs. Several mentioned the importance of personality tests, pre-course assessments and awareness raising to encourage more applicants.

Another quality favored by respondents, cited by 14%, was receiving training that stands out for containing cutting-edge knowledge, followed by security of learning, empirical or research-based knowledge, the ability to demonstrate the return of investment, profitability and a solid interactive online platform.

Much of the executive education spending of companies is focused on middle management

 

The proportion of courses taught primarily online has grown significantly during the pandemic

One respondent called for “innovative pedagogy, more personal development than knowledge provision”. Another highlighted the “ability to provide learning solutions that can be easily scaled”. A third party wanted the “ability to combine partner knowledge with our corporate specifications.”

Another respondent advocated for “partners who really understand and have had operational experiences with how people learn. Most of these coaches don’t know much about learning and instead just produce solutions based on nothing more than their own personal experiences.”

In a growing search for value for money, most said their criteria for evaluating executive education candidates and evaluating the success of programs would change in the coming years.

More than half of learning directors said budgets would increase in 2022 versus 2021

One respondent wrote: “We are in the early stages of our thinking. There has been such a lack of investment that there are a lot of basics to support.” One issue cited the growing interest in measuring the return on investment in executive education, with a caveat: “The bar has been raised: results await.” Another said there would be “more focus on business results and career development.”

Others mentioned the use of pulse surveys, regular questions sent to staff, feedback sessions, and pre- and post-course evaluations to help with selection and evaluation.

Business schools are companies’ first choice of external partner, but other options are close behind.

Business Schools remained the most common external partner for learning, used by 54%, followed by external platforms such as LinkedIn and other consultants. Nearly 20% used corporate universities or units of higher education that were not Business Schools, and about 1% did not partner with anyone.

While just over half of CLOs said they would use universities, including Business Schools, as professional development partners this year, 73% planned to use external non-academic sources, and 62% would rely on resources developed by themselves. business.

One of the greatest interests of both companies and executives regarding learning is to receive training that stands out for containing cutting-edge knowledge, followed by the security of learning, empirical or research-based knowledge, the ability to demonstrate the return of investment, profitability and a solid interactive online platform

 

Which is the master you should choose to find work?

If you want to work in the world of finance and are interested in a strategic position that will lead you to leadership roles, without a doubt conventional MBAs and specialties in financial management and marketing take the cake.

This has an explanation: each year, a percentage that is between 40 and 50% go to work in finance and consulting. But, in addition, they will do so in the fields of investment banking, wealth management, risk capital, private capital and fintechs. And the recruiters of new financial positions for this type of entity, choose some of the master’s courses from recognized schools in the field of finance for any specialty in financial services.

The most important curricular contents of this type of postgraduate courses include:

– Financial technology.

– Business Economics.

– Quantitative methods in management.

– Capital markets.

– Data management

What can you do with a Master in Business Management?

When it comes to business management programs, a conventional MBA is one of the most popular postgraduate assessments, taken by people at different stages of their careers. Recent graduates may study conventional MBAs as a way to boost their employability, while established workers often return to Business School and may also do so at university, as a form of professional development or to specialize in a particular area of ​​business.

What skills will you acquire with an MBA?

Studying for an MBA is nurturing you with a comprehensive set of transferable skills that will allow you to thrive in the professional world. You will probably have to study modules of these contents:

– Accounting and financial analysis.

– Organization of companies.

– Marketing.

– Entrepreneurship.

– Finance.

– HR Management.

– Head of operations and projects.

– Organizational behavior.

– Strategy.

– Dynamics and supply chains.

All of these module examples largely relate to different job roles that many companies employ.

Your studies will culminate in a lengthy dissertation, which will take the form of an independent research project building on what you have learned. Some MBA programs also involve a placement within an outside organization, in which case the thesis may relate to your experiences with that company and the business challenges it faces.

Alternatively, if you are further along in your career, you may want to study for an MBA, which focuses more on developing your understanding of strategy and leadership attributes. These types of programs are usually aimed at people with at least five years of business experience.

Studying an MBA is nurturing you with a complete set of transferable skills that will allow you to thrive in the professional world

 

What jobs can I get with a Master of Business Administration?

An MBA is one of the most versatile degrees in terms of career paths. The skills you acquire during your studies will put you in a good position to apply for management positions in many different sectors. Alternatively, you may even be inspired to start your own company, putting your business knowledge to work right away.

Some of the main job sectors you could enter with an MBA include:

– Accounting.

– Banks and finance.

– Human resources and recruitment.

– Legal areas (consulting firms and law firms).

– Logistics.

– Manufacturing.

-Marketing

Depending on your specialty and background, a very business-oriented MBA could allow you to work in the following professional fields:

– Auditor.

– Business development manager.

– Compliance officer.

– Data analyst.

– Administration consultant.

– Marketing director.

– Mediator.

– Project Manager.

– Risk manager.

Once you have studied and mastered all the knowledge and practices carried out, as well as research work, it is highly likely that you will be given the accolade to progress within your current organization (or a new one) to one of the management jobs higher, such as director, chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer or chief operating officer.

Regarding the employability data of MBA graduates, for example, data that we have had access to from OUR EDITORIAL STAFF, in the United Kingdom, regarding the employability of MBA graduates, official government data suggests that 83.5% of UK economics postgraduates from English universities are either working full-time or studying more five years after finishing their MBA. 83.1% of MBA graduates are in the same position.

Continuing with official data, in terms of the salary they can receive five years after finishing their course, it is in the order of £41,200 and the median earnings of a first degree graduate in Business Administration five years after finishing their course is around £41,200. 28,800.

This means that, on average, MBA graduates earn £12,400 per year more than Bachelors graduates, around 43% more.

MBA graduates earned an average of £62,000 per year, five years after finishing their programme. In fact, the MBA was the highest paid qualification according to official UK statistics. Of course, there are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that people studying for an MBA are more likely to have several years of business experience before starting the qualification.

What is your professional field of action when you enter the market with an MBA?

The management sector is one of the most varied areas of employment. So much so that there are hundreds of courses adapted to different specialties. For this reason, a wide range of postgraduate courses are offered that are identified as MBA in general and with a particular specialty. For example, depending on each country of our European environment, the following can be found:

– MBA in traditional administration.

– MBA in Management and Internal Audit Consulting.

– International MBA Management and Human Resources Development.

– MBA in International Business Administration.

– MBA in Management and Entrepreneurship.

– MBA in Administration and Finance.

– MBA in Administration and International Business.

– MBA in Management and Marketing.

These courses lend themselves to a wide variety of future careers, opening up not only the world of management to graduates, but also a wide variety of specialties. You don’t even need to have studied management before, and it’s common for Business Schools to tell you that their courses are open to graduates from other academic backgrounds.

These are just some of the careers you could pursue after graduating from a few graduate management degrees.

Once you have studied and mastered all the knowledge and practices carried out, as well as research work, it is highly likely that you will be given the accolade to progress within your current organization (or a new one) to one of the management jobs higher, such as a director, chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer or chief operating officer

 

Specialist managers

The obvious, but also the most varied option for management graduates, becoming a manager is a very broad umbrella term that doesn’t really mention how much one manager’s role may differ from another.

The advantage of graduate management studies is that it allows you to really specialize in one area. While your undergraduate coursework has given you a solid foundation on which to build your professional future, it doesn’t necessarily have all the information and experience to move straight into a specialist role. Only throughout the courses, there is the opportunity to specialize in areas such as:

Marketing Management: overseeing the development, production, and purchase of marketing material.

Financial Management: ​​overseeing the financial activities and transactions of organizations, as well as helping organizations meet their financial objectives, raise capital, manage mergers and acquisitions, and assess global financial activities.

Human resource management: supervision of employee-employer relations, handling of disputes, disciplinary measures and absences. There are also HR business partners, who work at a higher level within organizations and conglomerates to develop complex HR strategies.

Product Management: ​​overseeing the development and launch of new products, ensuring that multiple parts of a business come together to make products successful.

Operations Management: overseeing the general day-to-day operations of an organization, including purchasing, inventory management, cross-departmental coordination, and policy creation.

Audit Management: supervise and facilitate internal audits, ensuring that they are carried out thoroughly and in accordance with best practices and professional standards.

Insurance and Risk Management: Understanding risk in the context of an organization and how insurance is used to mitigate those risks.

Organizational risk management: identification, analysis and monitoring of risks and how they are managed throughout the organization.

These are just a few examples of specialized management roles that await those who graduate from postgraduate management courses in those specialties.

There is also the possibility that you already have specialized knowledge in a field and go on to postgraduate study to acquire the necessary management skills to complement it.

Management consulting

On the other side of the coin, there are also those specialties that companies turn to when they want to improve their own internal management. Management consultants are outside advisers who help organizations with their problems, either on a small scale, working with individual people, or on a larger scale, looking at the entire management structure of a company.

This is a line of work that typically requires a lot of personal experience in different management roles, as your experiences elsewhere will be able to inform any solutions you offer. However, for those who are up for the challenge, management consulting can enable them to work for a wide range of companies, with new and exciting challenges every day.

Entrepreneurs

Of course you can decide that the only person worth managing is yourself. A career in management does not necessarily have to start with joining a large company, as the skills you acquire during your studies could easily translate into starting your own business and growing yourself.

There are many MBA graduates with different specialties, who have taken their ideas and developed them outside of large companies. And as things grow, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t eventually become a manager anyway, as you start having to supervise more employees as your business gets stronger. This again speaks to the diversity of studying management: ​​it really can take you where you want to go.

What do you personally hope to gain from studying for a graduate degree in business and management?

Without a doubt, the benefits are many:

– Being able to apply critical research and inquiry skills.

– Be professional in your approach to work.

– Deal with complex and unpredictable problems and make informed decisions based on incomplete information.

– Take responsibility for your own learning and development.

How do you choose a postgraduate?

How do you really choose a master? You have to clarify the following aspects:

– Know what you want to do.

– Know why you want to do it.

– You should get as much information as possible.

– Do not rely solely on the Internet.

– Put on the table the economic question and how you are going to finance it.

Why do you want to participate in a postgraduate program?

You do it because you want to obtain a good professional qualification, which will help you improve your career by deepening your knowledge. But, in addition, that it allows you to change the direction of your professional career by acquiring skills in new areas of activity. This will increase your earning potential.

How will an MBA benefit your company?

Earning an MBA degree helps you gain specialized knowledge to advance in your field. As the workforce evolves, a graduate degree demonstrates that you are dedicated to enhancing your experience and credibility in the industry. You can focus on a particular field of study, which helps you become more competitive in that field.

Does an MBA make you more employable?

The good news is that research suggests there is a professional benefit to further education. Graduates with an MBA seem to have more employability. Many also continue to earn more throughout their lives. Higher overall employment for postgraduates is obviously good news if you’re considering applying for an MBA.

Which MBA course is best to become a CEO?

A traditional MBA, for example in Spain, in one of the Business Schools that are part of the AEEN, is a good path for aspiring CEOs. However, if you already have a full business education, getting an MBA in finance or another relevant discipline could also be an effective approach.

Is an Executive MBA worth it?

The average EMBA graduate received a 13.5% increase in compensation between the start and end of their executive MBA program, according to the 2019 EMBAC Student Exit Survey. Additionally, during their EMBA education, 40 % of students received a promotion.

The academic association representing the Executive MBA (EMBA) industry, the Executive MBA Council (EMBAC) advances the cause of EMBA programs by serving as a facilitator for the exchange of best practices and dissemination of knowledge, and by fostering an inclusive community and diverse among high-quality professionals programs

This information has been prepared by OUR EDITORIAL STAFF

 

 

 

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