Doing an MBA in Switzerland

 

Over the past decade, Switzerland has attracted an impressive roll call of European corporate headquarters: Yahoo, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, Nissan and Starbucks, to name but a few. In 2010, Switzerland also benefited from the UK’s decision to impose a bonus tax on finance professionals, with hedge funds such as Brevan Howard Asset Management and BlueCrest Capital Management responding by opening large offices in Geneva. So, what does this influx of international headquarters mean for someone contemplating an MBA course in Switzerland? David Williams of QS TopMBA.com investigates.

By David Williams

“Any professional who is good and who has very good experience or skills, has great opportunities in Switzerland at the moment,” says Alessandro Fonzi, an MBA graduate of the IMD in Lausanne. Originally from Italy, Fonzi is now a senior vice-president with private bank Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch in Zurich. 

Call of the Alps

But what is the attraction of the small mountainous country to companies from all over the world?

It comes down to a confluence of positive factors, but fundamentally, it is Switzerland’s liberal taxation policies, which – despite the country’s location at the heart of Europe – are not constrained by EU membership. The transport infrastructure is superb and the quality of life extremely high, with Geneva and Zurich consistently ranking as some of the best cities in the world in which to live. Its education system is very well regarded, plus a long tradition of language learning means any company wishing to set up its headquarters in the country can expect to find a skilled, multilingual workforce. 

What’s more, the economy and the banking sector in particular, have weathered the downturn very well. A conservative, save-before-you-spend culture means Switzerland is less indebted than other nations, while the country’s banking sector was less exposed to toxic assets than many elsewhere.

“Switzerland has traditionally had a very resilient labour market and economy,” says Dr. Rob Straw, MBA director at the University of St. Gallen. “It is smaller, so there is more stability, and the economy has not been hit as hard here as it has been in other countries.”

The MBA jobs market

Not all the companies who have relocated to Switzerland are necessarily MBA recruiters, of course; and it seems that international MBA candidates are still more interested in the quality of the business schools in the country than in working in the country itself. “We ask our students why they choose IMD,” says Katty Ooms Suter, director of MBA Admissions and Career Services at IMD. “Switzerland as a factor doesn’t even make it in to the top 10.”

Nevertheless, the influx of multinationals is having an effect on the opportunities available to Swiss MBA-holders, if simply in terms of the quality of the networking available. Having so many corporate headquarters on your doorstep creates opportunities – whether in Switzerland or elsewhere in Europe – and facilitates both formal and informal interviewing.

“When I started my MBA at the International University in Geneva, my only goal was to re-orientate myself away from my philosophy degree,” says Dekin O’Sullivan, a French national who now works for the credit department of HSBC Private Bank Switzerland. “But once I went into the MBA, I discovered that finance was my favourite subject. And as it was senior local bankers giving us courses in finance, I was able to approach them and ask what the opportunities were. [Then] it was really very easy for me to get into banking here in Geneva.”

O’Sullivan attributes another factor to his success. He argues that the country’s American-style, easy-hire-easy-fire culture means that Swiss-based employers are more prepared to take risks on someone without a banking background, like him, than they would be under the less flexible regime of an EU country, where employers use experience to avoid the costs of making expensive hiring mistakes.

“There is certainly more employee turnover here,” confirms Oliver Ernst, a Swiss national who did his MBA at the Business School Lausanne, and who now works at Lloyds TSB International Private Banking. “This helps us stay competitive. At 4.5 per cent, the unemployment rate is much lower than everywhere else I know. Employment opportunities are plentiful in the 

dynamic Swiss economy.” Since Ernst took part in this interview, unemployment has dropped yet further, to around 3.7 per cent (as of June 2010).

Other factors affecting the ability to get a job in Switzerland include a visa programme, which has recently become more flexible. Katty Ooms-Suter of the IMD reports that since January 2010, a new law has been in place, granting graduates of Swiss institutions a six-month visa extension in order to seek employment. This, she says, puts Switzerland above the UK as the easiest place for non-Europeans to find a job.

“Of course every country tends to become more nationalistic during times of economic crisis,” argues Dr. Straw, MBA director of University of St. Gallen, “yet Switzerland realises that without its dependency on highly trained expats, it is too small to be able to grow its economy. We do have a prioritisation issue with EU citizens, but we are not having any difficulty with placing non-EU candidates.”

One significant characteristic of the Swiss job-market worth noting is that multilingualism is the norm. It is taken for granted that candidates will be proficient in a number of European languages: so much so, there are anecdotal reports that the quality of an applicant’s accent can become a relevant factor.

The MBA experience

The opportunity to network doesn’t only affect job seekers. It is also changing the student experience – both educationally and socially.

“The quality of the guest speakers we can attract is amazing, simply because of all the multinational headquarters in the area,” says Dr. Katrin Muff, dean of the Business School Lausanne. “Students love this, of course, and appreciate both the networking opportunities and the practical knowledge and experience the guest speakers are able to bring in with them.”

“There is a strong international community here,” adds O’Sullivan, “and this is making it very easy to network because it is a small place. Bonds are created much more easily [in Geneva] than they would be in a big city with millions of people.

Read More at Top Accredited MBA programs in Switzerland