Global slowdown leaves few takers for financial courses

Call it adapting to the volatile market landscape or call it playing it safe. B-schools are finding that finance is losing favour with students. CNBC-TV18's Pranshu Sikka explains how the global economic slowdown has left few takers for financial courses.

Planning is a key to good management, and it looks like B-school aspirants are practicing it well before it comes up in their textbooks. With lay-offs hitting the financial services and related sectors hard, academicians are finding that a specialisation in finance - traditionally the most-sought after field - is not finding as many takers.

Richard C Levin, President, Yale University, said, “People who loose jobs in financial markets may actually look to do an MBA now! But on a more serious note, these things tend to go in cycles. I am sure you will see some diminution of interest in financial sector for the next few years.

Sharp fall in placements

These fears are not ill-founded. The financial sector is seeing a sharp fall in terms of jobs-on-offer.

Last year at IIM-Calcutta, around 45% of the summer placement offers came from the financial sector. This year, this specialisation made up just 34% of the offers. At IIM-Ahmedabad, summer placement offers from the financial sector made up just 32% of the offers this year, against 57% last year.

It is important to understand that unlike many other B-Schools, students at IIMs graduate with more than one specialisation. Thus, their choice of sector at the time of placements becomes a key indicator to the sentiment prevailing at large.