Executives across a range of sectors are seeking to reskill following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the UCD Smurfit School, whose executive development arm is celebrating its highest ever placing in a Financial Times ranking.
UCD Smurfit Executive Development has been ranked 31st in the world in the 2022 Financial Times Executive Education Open Enrolment Rankings. The school described the ranking as a “significant achievement in light of considerable challenges faced during the pandemic”.
More than 50 per cent of the current workforce will require reskilling by 2025, and emerging skills such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility will be a priority, according to data from the World Economic Forum.
UCD Smurfit Executive Development director Helen Brophy said the pandemic had “accelerated these trends, and we see executives across diverse sectors coming to us to advance and hone their skills in key areas including strategy, leadership and change”.
She added: “With ongoing transformation at work, hybrid working challenges and focus on sustainability, leaders are rapidly rethinking what it takes to successfully lead an organisation in the 21st century.”
The school recorded gains across all criteria, and ranked 22nd for new skills and learning; 26th for aims achieved; 30th for both course design and teaching materials; and 32nd for faculty.
In addition, the school ranked 14th for partner schools, which refers to programmes taught in conjunction with other Equis or AACSB accredited business schools.
Separately, the school is to undergo significant expansion in its executive development offerings in the years ahead at both individual executive and organisation levels as part of the UCD College of Business 2022-2026 strategic plan.
