Manchester Business
School (MBS) has announced the launch of a new Global Careers Service
(GCS) for its current 3000 MBA students in over 100 countries around the
world. The global launch event took place in Dubai, where MBS has its
Middle East International Executive Centre and which coordinates over
700 MBA students across the region. The new global careers service for
students offers a customised web 2.0 portal, face-to-face workshops and
coaching to help face the challenge of a tough job market. The GCS was
launched in Dubai at a presentation and workshop held for MBS MBA
students, MBS alumni and for regional corporate HR professionals, with
the support of recruitment specialists Bayt.com
Previously, MBS had provided careers support only for its full time MBA
students; the new Global Careers Service is being launched in response
to interest from part-time students and in the face of an increasingly
tough recruitment market. The service will be available to all MBA
students from enrolment until 12 months after graduation. The School has
nine international executive centres worldwide and the new Global
Careers Service will be rolled out across them all before the end of 2010.
The GCS takes a blended approach in offering students access to a
comprehensive and customised web 2.0 portal of resources, psychometrics,
databases, webinars and jobs. Workshops are delivered through the
School’s international executive centres, with delivery through expert
corporate partners based locally to each centre.
Speaking at the Dubai workshop, Alison Edmonds, Head of the Global
Careers Service at Manchester Business School said: ”‘The MBA
qualification is internationally recognised and still sought after in
business. MBA students need help understanding their unique value
proposition, and to market to, and negotiate with, employers. They need
support in understanding job markets and targeting, in order to find
local and international career paths.”
According to Alison Edmonds, MBA students need specialist skills to
navigate a tough market, where networking and the hidden job market are
more crucial than ever. “There is always a demand for business talent
but with the number of senior openings shrinking, competition between
MBAs is tough. This new service is a career management programme that
strongly supports our students in achieving their international career
goals and salary expectations. It has been designed around their needs
and their specific geographical locations. We know already from our
full-time programme that access to such a diverse talent pool is valued
enormously by employers. The new service is truly global and all jobs
are available to all students, no matter what their location. We
anticipate that the UAE and China job markets will hold greatest
interest from our students generally.”
Randa Bessiso, Director Middle East at MBS, added: “Over 80 per cent of
students take an MBA to help them meet their career ambitions and a
world class business school must provide a service that supports this
key motivator, as an added value service. The vast majority of our
students are self financed. Company sponsored students have access only
to the self-evaluation tools of the Global Careers Service, to help them
understand how they fit into their existing management structure.
Corporates recognise that students taking MBAs are career-motivated and
so most student support deals include tie-in periods.”
Manchester Business School is ranked as one of the top 50 business
schools in the world, according to the annual Financial Times survey
conducted in January 2010.
