The Impact of COVID-19 on Business Schools --: A Threat or an Opportunity to Executive Education

COVID-19 has impacted the educational sector significantly and, business
schools around the world have been challenged on their responses to executive education.
Business schools that have been capable of developing and building alliances with learning
platforms and have created online learning expertise have moved ahead. At the same time,
those who transitioned to Emergency Response Teaching without much planning face
additional challenges and will need to reconsider their educational model. Undoubtedly, the
educational landscape is changing, and online education will play a critical role in shaping
executive education in the years to come, with technology becoming a vital and central player.
The labour market demands flexibility, adaptability, and rapid responses to a fast-moving
working environment that requires different skills. The transition towards short courses for
business executive education has been identified as a successful strategy as various types
of learners could access an educational offer that was not available to them before. The
Imperial College Business School in London is an example of how a quick movement towards
digital programmes could adapt existing courses and make them available to their students
over a short period of time, contributing to broadening the corporate education market by
addressing learners demands under very challenging learning conditions. The pandemic
has had a significant impact on the pace of change of executive education, and the new
reality is that those schools that can adapt and respond to change quickly and efficiently will
be the ones that will prosper and progress in the future. The global health crisis is forcing
business schools to reconsider their existing educational models. In addition, employers
seem to be shifting from education to skills and experience, where a degree is no longer
sufficient to secure a job and respond to employers’ needs. Employers are assessing to which
extent their future employees have developed skills needed to perform, to which extent
they will be able to keep building on those skills while they adapt and adjust to fluctuating
market conditions. Within the outlined context, this paper seeks to offer critical insights on
the impact of COVID-19 in business education and, by reflecting on the potential transition
from education to skills training, that might bring the desired effects to the business sector
and contribute to sustainable economic development.