Employers Everywhere are Using AI – But Business Schools Aren’t Preparing Students for the Shift

August 12, 2026

Business professors at Drexel University surveyed 647 employers and found that while AI has become integral to routine workplace tasks, traditional human skills remain paramount for entry-level workers. The research reveals that employers prioritize communication, professionalism, teamwork, reliability, and critical thinking over AI technical skills alone when evaluating recent graduates. However, AI's automation of routine entry-level tasks poses a challenge because these traditional apprenticeship-style roles have historically been how new graduates developed professional judgment and interpersonal capabilities.

Who is affected

Recent college graduates and entry-level workers
Employers across most industries (647 surveyed employers from various sectors and organization sizes)
Business schools and educators
Drexel University's LeBow College of Business (specifically mentioned)
Financial analysts and marketing firm employees (as examples)
Business professors Murugan Anandarajan and Stacy Kline

What action is being taken

Employers are using AI for tasks ranging from drafting emails to answering customer calls
Business professors at Drexel University are examining how AI is changing the workplace and higher education
Many schools are incorporating AI into their curricula in different ways
Drexel University's LeBow College of Business is integrating AI into its programs while retaining a focus on human judgment

Why it matters

This matters because AI is fundamentally transforming the traditional apprenticeship model of entry-level work, where graduates previously developed professional judgment by creating initial drafts and models themselves. As AI automates routine tasks, new professionals may lose critical opportunities to practice communication, collaboration, and decision-making alongside experienced colleagues—the very skills employers value most. This creates a gap between what business schools traditionally teach and what workplaces now require, necessitating a rethinking of educational responsibility to ensure graduates can work effectively with AI while maintaining the human judgment capabilities that employers continue to prioritize.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint