In 2011, the Ural business education market revived after the crisis. The cost of training programs is increasing, and the demand for them has increased. Business training has become popular again not only
from corporate, but also from individual clients, market participants state.

Price collapse and flexible schedule

The crisis has affected the work of business schools in the Urals Federal District. Thus, according to data for the first half of 2009, the total turnover from training at the Ural-Siberian Institute of Business (USIB) amounted to 40.24 million rubles. Compared to the same period in 2008, turnover decreased by 38.76 million rubles. Other schools also experienced a decline in turnover. Thus, the turnover for the first half of 2009 of the Higher Economic School amounted to 7.9 million rubles (in the first half of 2008 - 14.7 million rubles), the Center for Business Education - 25.44 million rubles (in the first half of 2008 year - 30.2 million rubles). In 2009, the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship of the Ural State University was able to demonstrate a slight increase compared to 2008. A.M. Gorky. Its turnover for the first half of 2009 amounted to 15.9 million rubles (in 2008 - 13.1 million rubles).

Market participants admit that the crisis has taught them to be more sensitive to customer needs. In particular, schools have become more active in offering discounts and new learning conditions. “Individuals now have the opportunity to pay for their education in installments. In addition, discounts for those who paid out of pocket reached 20% for both mini-courses (4-5 lessons, cost from 15 to 20 thousand rubles) and advanced training programs (from 3 to 8 months, cost from 40 to 130 thousand rubles) and for retraining programs (cost from 120 to 190 thousand rubles),” says Yulia Golomshtok, director of the NOUDO Center for Advanced Studies and Professional Retraining “Higher Economic School”. According to her, “constructor programs” began to appear in the school’s portfolio. “The course participant can choose the most interesting and useful topics for him and build up the professional competencies that he lacks,” she notes. The international business school “Center for Civic Initiatives” (CGI), as well as the Ural-Siberian Institute of Business (USIB), are also talking about reducing the cost of education.

Return

Over the past year, business education market indicators have begun to return to pre-crisis levels. As USIB executive director Ekaterina Kuzina said, the number of USIB students in the first half of 2011 increased by 17% compared to the same period in 2010. The cost of training has risen again to the pre-crisis level - from 480 to 550 thousand rubles. According to the director of the Center for Business Education (CBE) Olga Zhigaltsova, in 2008-2009 the number of students decreased by about 30-40%, but the demand for our other programs remained the same. Now demand has recovered. According to her data, from January to April 2011 there was an increase in CBO students by 30%. “If in January April 2010 there were 1,049 students studying, then during the same period in 2011, 1,362 students were recorded at the CBO, an increase of 30%. We could not reduce prices for training in 2009, since the cost of the product remained at the same high level during the crisis. Currently, the cost of training in our Center varies from 4 to 50 thousand rubles, depending on the exclusivity of the product, the duration of the training and the category of the student (specialist, middle manager, manager, owner). In 2011, an increase in costs, unfortunately, is inevitable: we have kept prices unchanged for the last 4 years, despite the fact that both the conditions of suppliers and the country’s economy have, in principle, changed a long time ago,” she notes.

The post-crisis period introduces new trends. Market participants note an increase in the interest of their clients in the topics of marketing and personnel management (HR). “The interest in marketing and personnel management is easy to explain: it is very difficult to find competent specialists who could build a personnel management system at an enterprise or fine-tune a business to client needs in the labor market,” says Ms. Golomshtok. Another trend in Ural business education is the increased interest in the topic of knowledge management and creating a self-developing company. “During the crisis, managers left companies and took both experience and accumulated knowledge with them. That is why many corporations are now concerned about introducing technologies for managing the company's intellectual capital. Both managers and HR specialists understand that knowledge must remain within the company and work for its future,” notes Ms. Zhigaltsova.

At the same time, the structure of demand for business education has changed. There has been an increase in interest in business schools from individual clients. “Now individuals are increasingly turning to us on an individual basis. At the same time, individuals today are more focused on systemic, comprehensive programs, while companies, on the contrary, have begun to order narrow-profile programs tailored for a specific task,” says Yulia Golomshtok. Director of LLC “Business School of Your Business” Nikolai Wolverine notes a slight increase in demand for educational programs on organizing your own business. “The most popular programs now are to create a beauty salon, restaurant, and cafe,” he says.

Business education results

According to graduates of Ural business schools, in practice, MBA programs are more beneficial than other types of training. “Participation in the MBA program allowed me to build a business strategy in a new way. In particular, I mastered the technique of managing a business remotely. As a result, the turnover of my business increased several times,” notes Inna Batalova, general director of the Polygon-print advertising company. According to her, internships for managers abroad only help broaden their horizons and can be interesting from the point of view of borrowing experience. “Educational programs are useful for business. This gives everyone theoretical and practical experience and the opportunity to communicate. Moreover, business programs are structured, which helps to look at business in a new way and to organize oneself,” says Tatyana Safarova, consultant at the Likom real estate agency.

And yet, some entrepreneurs are skeptical about the very idea of Russian business education. “The effectiveness of business education in Russia is not obvious. There are ratings of schools abroad; they monitor the future fate and employment of their clients. We don’t have this yet,” notes the chairman of the board of the Sverdlovsk regional branch of “Support of Russia” Evgeny Artyukh.

Elena Nikishchenko

WHAT BUSINESS EDUCATION PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE?

Market participants divide training programs at business schools into several groups. Long- and medium-term programs can last from 72 hours, short-term programs - 16-72 hours, trainings and seminars - up to 16 hours. In addition, some Ural business schools have a license for MBA training (USIB and the business school at UrFU). The Ural branch of Moscow Business School, Higher Economic School, USIB, Potential Education Center, Business Education Center (CBE) provide services for both long-term and medium-term, as well as short-term programs. The Ural branch of Moscow Business School, CBO, USIB and the Potential Training Center also organize trainings and seminars. In addition to them, IBC Business Education and the Business Development school operate in this segment.

Business schools have overcome the crisis