To MBA or not to MBA? : B-Schools are seeing better business than usual in the pandemic, but is an MBA the only fast track to better job prospects?

RABBANI Rosli, a third-year undergraduate at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, believes that a Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a must-have to gain entry or get fast tracked into the C-suite - executive-level management. Even though he has till 2022 to decide whether he will pursue an MBA immediately after graduating, the benefits to him are quite clear - and especially apparent in the pandemic job market. Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Mr Rosli was contemplating getting an MBA at the age of 30 to "hone strategic thinking skills and business acumen".

The virus, which brought on a much more competitive job market, changed his view.

"Typically, one pursues an MBA after a few years of working. The pandemic changed the situation by causing massive layoffs and unemployment. As a youth candidate, the stiff competition not only comes from your peers, but from those with years of industry experience. An MBA helps you to outshine both of these groups," he says.

Rahul Choudaha, director of industry insights and research communications at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), notes that across the globe, candidates are continuing to adapt to the pandemic-induced economic uncertainty, and demand is growing for graduate management education. "At its core, candidates recognise that an MBA can help them emerge out of a shaky economy more career-ready," says Dr Choudaha.

The way Suriani Poh sees it, pursuing an MBA during the pandemic is a wise option, as it would add value to a candidate and help them protect their careers in a tougher job market.

The 34-year-old assistant director at Tan Tock Seng Hospital graduated from NTU's MBA programme in 2020 - right into the middle of the Covid-19 outbreak. Describing the healthcare industry as an "incredibly complex" one that compels systems to evolve in order to meet rapidly-changing demands, Ms Poh says her MBA will help prepare her to "influence change at a system level, and better navigate a paradigm shift towards population health".

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Spike in interest

Business schools in Singapore report a recent spike in numbers of interested applicants for their MBA programmes.

And this is despite the fact that a MBA - both part-time and full-time - come with a hefty price tag. A full-time MBA can cost anywhere from S$62,000 for a one-year course at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), to S$68,000 for a 17-month programme at National University of Singapore (NUS).

While NUS keeps the fee unchanged for part-time programmes, part-time MBA courses at NTU and Singapore Management University (SMU) will set one back by an additional S$3,000 and S$2,140 respectively compared to the full-time course.

Meanwhile, Insead charges a flat tuition fee of 89,000 euros (S$143,325) for an MBA at both its Singapore and Europe campuses.

Nicole Tee, director of MBA programmes at NUS Business School's graduate studies office says the school saw higher applications for its most recent intake in January.

The latest intake for the school's part-time MBA programme, in particular, saw an 80 per cent surge in applications. NUS Business School had, as a result, doubled its intake of part-time MBA students to near 120. Meanwhile, applications for the full-time MBA also rose by more than 10 per cent.

NTU's Nanyang Business School deputy director for graduate studies Gilbert Chua says applications for the school's most recent cohort increased by 25 per cent for the incoming batch that will start the course in July this year, compared to the previous year.

International universities that run MBA programmes in Singapore also reported a marked surge in interest.

Insead's global director of admissions Virginie Fougea says that at the peak of the pandemic, applications for its MBA programme increased by 58 per cent, compared to pre-Covid levels. Although application volume has since returned to a level of normalcy for the school, Ms Fougea notes that application volume is still high.

The admission round for Insead's Master in Management programme, which closed on Feb 17, turned out to be one of the largest rounds the school has seen, with a 21 per cent increase in applications from last year.

As NUS' Ms Tee notes, the surge is not entirely surprising: "Historically, what's been observed in general, is that applications to business schools go up when the economy worsens, and they go down when the economy improves."

She explains that part-time programmes were more popular with working professionals feeling the need to "future-proof" themselves against economic uncertainties, or candidates deciding to invest in themselves by building their knowledge, connections and network in order to be better poised to "pounce on opportunities" during a recovery.

Other schools echo similar sentiments. NTU's Mr Chua observes that the slow economic recovery from the pandemic fuelled substantial interest for those in professional, managerial, executive and technical (PMET) jobs to upgrade their management skills and be more future-ready for career development. The likes of engineering and business professionals have also headed for MBAs in a bid to create more business value in their roles or to upgrade their leadership and management skills.

"Although we received queries from retrenched employees, it comprised a small percentage," says Mr Chua. "We see the primary interest coming from candidates from the technology, finance and consulting sectors, with an increasing interest from the healthcare sector."

Ang Ser-Keng, SMU's academic director for the MBA programme, notes that SMU has continued to see strong demand for both part-time and full-time programmes, and cohort sizes have seen a "slight increase".

"I've advised many contemplating an MBA, that the programme is not meant to be an escape from the trials of the working world. It is important for any candidate considering an MBA to have a clear idea of how the programme would be able to help in pursuing one's career goals," he says.

Insead's Ms Fougea says: "I think people were in a sort of unsettling environment, where they felt that it was the right moment to apply to business school and see what would be next for the global economy."

Adapting to the pandemic

With the pandemic came a slew of rules, restrictions and limitations that right away disrupted the universities' programmes and students' learning.

NUS made the decision in March last year to delay the start date for its current MBA cohort by five months to January this year. The previous MBA cohort had started the course in August last year.

The later start date allowed the school to begin the course year with face-to-face classes instead of online classes that it would have had to hold due to the "circuit breaker" measures. The school used the time, instead, to hold virtual student activities in the lead-up to the semester.

Meanwhile, NTU started its programme as scheduled in July, and successfully brought in all its international students into Singapore by September last year. The school launched hybrid classes - a mix of online and in-class formats - and resumed face-to-face classes in October last year.

While the pandemic has undoubtedly thrown these institutions a curveball, it also helped schools accelerate change. For instance, lockdowns helped schools ramp up digitalisation initiatives and pushed them to explore alternative methods.

James Cook University (JCU) "refreshed" its MBA programme in 2020 by introducing six new majors. Andrew Chew, the school's director for marketing, says that while a small proportion of MBA applicants were looking to further studies due to the bleak job market, the majority of them were keen on the new suite of majors.

With the refreshed programme, he says he is confident the school's enrolment will surpass 300 students in the near term, up from 250 currently.

Insead, too, has added new courses to its list of elective offerings. The school added a new MBA course on advanced negotiations that deals with the particularities of high-stakes discussion over Zoom. Another course matches students with entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized private companies globally, with students helping these firms remotely for one to two months on a part-time mandate to analyse or manage a Covidrelated challenge.

A step above online classes, Insead also tied up with an Israeli startup ActiView to establish the world's first virtual reality (VR) classroom for higher education, which enables students to experience real-world business scenarios through the use of VR glasses. Each VR kit is also connected to a tablet enabling student-lecturer interaction and real-time analysis of student behaviour.

Better employability?

Typically, MBAs are seen as a way for professionals to upgrade and position themselves for better career prospects, such as faster promotions and salary increments.

Getting a promotion at a speciality chemicals company in 2018 meant that Sahan Udana was handed the opportunity to lead a smart factories business transformation initiative. While the promotion was a step up for the 37-year-old, the leadership role made him aware of "certain gaps in (his) business knowledge".

"Where I felt I was lacking were areas such as finance and global leadership skills, especially since I had to work with people from all over the world," says Mr Udana.

This pushed him to join the NTU Nanyang Professional MBA - a part-time programme designed to accelerate the development of high-potential leaders - in July 2019. He now takes classes on alternate weekends, while juggling a full-time job as a senior digital consultant at independent engineering consultancy Beca. He is expected to graduate this year.

The MBA programme, says Mr Udana, was the key trigger for his career switch. In his own words, he would not even have thought of being a management consultant without an MBA. The programme, he adds, has helped him look at the business world differently, and he is now more confident about taking up more responsibilities at work.

According to GMAC's annual survey of corporate recruiters, close to 90 per cent of recruiters surveyed plan to hire MBA graduates in 2021, up from 77 per cent in 2020. This shows that the confidence of corporate recruiters in the skills and experiences of these graduates remains unshaken, the organisation said.

Others are sceptical, and are quick to point out that an MBA does not automatically mean a free pass in the corporate world.

Linda Teo, country manager at ManpowerGroup Singapore, notes that across the board, very few employers would specify MBAs as one of the requirements, even when hiring senior level executives. She says that an MBA is generally more relevant for strategic management roles such as those in international management and strategy, finance and technology management.

Across the board, Ms Teo says firms instead tend to look out for candidates who have a deep insight of the industry, relevant functional expertise and experience.

"MBA graduates do not necessarily have an easier time landing jobs during the pandemic, as an MBA is usually seen as a bonus rather than as an essential job requirement.

"While employers do look for an entrepreneurial mindset, they essentially evaluate candidates based on their ability to add value to the job and their organisations. Eventually, having the relevant job experience and industry knowledge are still key deciding factors to hiring companies," she says.

Experts have also warned that the focus on "paper qualifications" is slipping, which could mean a tougher road ahead for MBA graduates scouring the market for jobs.

Randstad Singapore's senior director for accounting and finance David Blasco says that while "paper qualifications" may still be important as they show the foundation or technical knowledge that is required for the job, the need for these will diminish as candidates progress in their careers.

"An MBA qualification with zero work experience would also mean that the candidate has to start from the bottom. This means being willing and open to accepting a junior position.

"Just because someone has an MBA qualification, it does not instantly propel them to the top of the list... If everyone has the same mindset of frontloading their education, Singapore would have more MBA holders, which will lead to stronger competition in the labour market," he says.

Roberta Balagopal, a senior consultant at career counselling firm Gary and Pearl International, says that an MBA is typically "a shortcut to gaining exposure to multiple business environments and situations", and can also be a place for networking. But an MBA is not the only way to get the job done.

"Paper qualifications are still important, but the pandemic has made employers more aware of getting employees who are able to multitask.

"Whichever way you go about it, employers want to see that you've absorbed and can apply the knowledge in flexible ways, especially now when businesses may have to pivot to new areas quickly," adds Ms Balagopal.

Susan Cheong, DBS's group head for talent acquisition, says the firm takes a "holistic, multi-faceted view of talent that goes beyond paper qualifications", and deploys a range of assessment tools customised to the requirements of each role, including case studies, programming challenges and hackathons.

Despite the pandemic, DBS did not scale back on hiring. In 2020, the company offered nearly 600 traineeships to Singaporeans, and hired close to 150 young graduates into programmes such as the Graduate Associate programmes and the Applied Wealth Management Track.

While Josh Heniro, senior director of South-east Asia and Australasia at Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), acknowledges that an MBA provides a "much broader overview" of general management and business topics, employers are likely to be looking at other relevant certifications and skills as digitalisation accelerates.

"Digital transformation has revolutionised roles across organisations, creating skills gaps that further complicate hiring," notes Dr Heniro.

"The fact is businesses have begun to focus more on specific, in-demand skills to enhance general degrees. While an MBA is still relevant, a relevant professional certification can provide differentiation for candidates to stand out in a challenging job market."