AI Pushes Business Schools to Teach Higher-Order Human Skills

Artificial intelligence is absorbing routine entry-level work such as basic research, data analysis and presentation preparation, narrowing the traditional runway on which young management graduates learned professional judgment. Employers increasingly expect new hires to arrive with higher-order “human” capabilities — including strategic thinking, communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence and people management — forcing business schools to move workplace development into the classroom.

The Financial Times reported on Sept. 1 that schools face pressure to teach the “tier two” abilities employers once developed after recruitment. A Graduate Management Admission Council survey released June 25 covered more than 600 corporate recruiters in 39 countries. Communication, problem-solving and adaptability remained among the leading hiring priorities, while respondents said proficiency with AI tools and strategic thinking were likely to become the most valuable skills for business-school graduates over the next five years.