While a majority of the business sectors are experiencing the negative effects of the economic downturn, with many businesses struggling to survive; the South African business school environment is defying the recession.
Although these institutions are modest about declaring their worth, the income generated annually by Wits annual is estimated at R1bn. Some Business schools' annual turnover is well over R100m. Wits signed a single R23m contract with a parastatal last month. The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has begun work on a new R450m campus at their Soweto Campus. Pretoria University's Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) has recently completed a R100m expansion. All of this proves that Business School brands are recession resistant.
Demand for executive programs such as the MBA qualification has never been so high in South Africa. This demand is in line with International trends. Jeanette Purcell, CE of the London based association of MBAs states that, “International demands for executive education have hit record levels”. The result is a greater demand on business school brands to ensure effective communication to gain control of this booming industry.
Via: Financial Mail
