Recession and the Future of MBA

In the past few months, humanity has faced an onslaught of the deadly Coronavirus. Thousands of people across different parts of the world have succumbed to this virus. While it has impacted innumerable businesses and industries across the world, even educational institutions have not been left untouched. Overnight adjustments had to be made for students pursuing their MBA or other higher education courses. Most of them are currently undergoing online classes by their respective institutes. As global economy starts to tumble, MBA institutes have started facing the heat.

Thousands of businesses have shut down while others have laid off a majority of their employees. The unemployment numbers have already started giving tremors to the management graduates. People are following social distancing to avoid contracting to this virus, but the damage has already been done in economic terms. Covid-19 will continue to have a ripple effect on the entire economy in the months to come. Higher education will be amongst the most hit.

But, there is a silver lining. It has been historically seen that during recession, millions of people lose jobs and in order to survive in the ever-increasing competition enrol for specialised courses and MBA programmes. While this recession may seem different, but economic impacts are yet to be seen. It is highly probable that as the recession increases and unemployment numbers continue to soar, there will be a simultaneous rise in MBA enrolments. While this may have adverse impact on the overall economy, as student loans will pile up, but it may also indirectly help MBA institutions.

If you are one of those individuals who is caught up in a catch-22 situation, then I would suggest you look out for one of the leading B-schools. I am talking about the management institutions who assure placements in leading companies. Here, the trick is research thoroughly because on one hand you will come across fake reviews who might misguide you about genuine management colleges, and on the other hand, you may come across colleges who make false promises. You must particularly go for renowned colleges and universities like University of Mumbai, IIFT, FMS, Regenesys, and NMIMS. Such a step will safeguard your career amidst the impending recession.

Historically, when government is cash strapped, the first ones to face the brunt are public-run institutes. The losses are later recovered by students. Alternatively, students can even undergo specialised programmes to keep up with the changing times. The best aspect of these programmes is that they last for merely few weeks or months. Another interesting thing to note is their usefulness. If you complete a specialised programme relevant to your industry, then you will be an eye-candy for prospective interviews. Most industry experts expect graduates to have these skills. These skills comprise of courses on latest technologies. Therefore, if you are laid off or you can see an impending recession, it’s time to enrol for a specialised programme.

Policymakers are already burning their midnight oil to come up with policy changes. These measures can help management institutions to survive the epidemic. We must note that if governments don’t take solid measures towards higher education, there will drastic increase in fees. It will make students think through before making up their mind for enrolling into a management programme.