Technology skills for managers in 2026, according to MBA recruiters
Technology skills for managers: GMAC's 2026 survey has 81% of regional employers ranking technology/IT first and decision-making leading the future list.
Technology skills lead the list that employers in Central and South Asia gave GMAC in 2026. In its Corporate Recruiters Survey, 81% named technology/IT skills among their top current skills, ahead of communication (75%) and skills using AI tools (71%), while decision-making led the future list at 73%. The figures are employer opinion for a region wider than India.
Why are technology skills now part of a manager's job?
Two figures from GMAC's Corporate Recruiters Survey 2026 (June 2026) frame the shift. In the Central and South Asia profile, 83% of employers agreed that skills are more important as businesses adopt new technologies, against 62% globally. And 75% agreed that business skills are more important for businesses using remote or hybrid working, against 51% globally.
Both are opinions, not measures of results, and the region covers India and its neighbours rather than India alone. They still show that employers in the region put more weight on skills in a technology-heavy workplace than the global sample does. The survey reports skills employers rate, not a manager's job description, so reading the list as a development checklist is an interpretation.
Which skills are worth learning right now, according to recruiters?
The table sets out the regional ranking as GMAC reported it in the 2026 profile.
| Skill | Current skills | Future skills | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology/IT skills | 81% (first) | 60% (joint second) | The baseline expectation |
| Communication | 75% (second) | Not among the top three | Valued now, not listed for later |
| Skills using AI tools | 71% (third) | 60% (joint second) | Expected to stay on the list |
| Decision-making | Not among the top three | 73% (first) | The skill employers expect to need most |
The two lists answer different questions, skills in use now and skills expected to matter later, so a lower percentage in the future list is not a before-and-after measure. What stands out is the order. Technology comes first and communication second today, and the future list is led by a judgement skill rather than a technical one.
The same profile asked about pay. 29% of employers strongly agreed and 46% agreed that employees with a graduate business education tend to earn more than others. That is a statement of opinion, not a pay figure, and it should not be read as what any individual or any programme's graduate earns.
What do AI tools, data and decision-making mean in a manager's week?
Take a hypothetical operations manager at a mid-sized logistics company in Pune. On Monday a weekly performance summary arrives, drafted by an AI assistant from the dashboards. The manager's skill is checking whether the summary matches the underlying numbers and noticing what it left out.
Midweek a supplier asks for different delivery terms, and the delay data is messy. The manager has to judge what the numbers can and cannot support. By Friday the decision, the reason for it and the main open risk are written into a short note for a director.
Mapped back to the survey, AI-tool skill is drafting and summarising with a check, data skill is questioning numbers, and decision-making is choosing under uncertainty and recording why. The example is illustrative; the survey does not list tasks.
What is AI replacing, and what is it not?
One in three global employers in GMAC's 2026 survey reported already replacing at least some entry-level roles with AI. The survey does not say how many roles, in which functions or at what grades, and it is a global survey of staffing and corporate recruiters rather than an Indian one.
The same report states that 100% of employers express confidence in graduate management education. On hiring plans, 36% expected to hire more MBA graduates in 2026 and 42% the same. In GMAC's 2025 survey of 1,108 recruiters, 90% planned to hire MBA talent. These are hiring intentions, not outcomes, and GMAC notes projections run slightly above actual results.
The 2026 sample matters for how far the numbers travel. GMAC's Corporate Recruiters Survey 2026 drew on 621 recruiters and hiring managers from 39 countries, 53% of them from Global Fortune 500 companies, fielded from January to May 2026. With 53% of the sample from Global Fortune 500 companies, the figures may differ for smaller employers.
No figure here measures tasks, so what AI leaves to people is an expectation, not a finding. The nearest evidence is indirect: employers in the region rank decision-making as the top future skill (73%), which suggests they expect judgement to stay with people. The wider hiring picture is in is an MBA still in demand in 2026.
How are Indian learners building these skills while working?
India's official counts show most MBA learners still choose regular mode, but distance-mode MBA enrolment at universities rose from 1,20,361 in 2021-22 to 2,10,701 in 2023-24, against 6,31,887 in regular mode, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education 2023-24 (released July 2026). Online mode is small in the same counts: 2.8 lakh students across all levels in 2023-24, of whom 1,55,679 were at postgraduate level.
On the candidate side, GMAC's Prospective Students Survey 2026 report (March 2026) says candidates are less motivated to change career path and more focused on skills and return on investment. It is a global survey.
On the degree format itself, 61% of employers globally in GMAC's 2026 survey agreed that their organisation values online and in-person degrees equally, and the figure for Central and South Asia was 63%.
On the employer side, 85% of Central and South Asia employers in GMAC's 2026 survey named professional development as a common non-salary benefit and 64% named educational assistance. LinkedIn's 2025 Workplace Learning Report, a survey of 937 learning and HR professionals worldwide, found 91% agreeing that continuous learning is more important than ever for career success, yet only 15% say their manager helped them build a career plan in the past six months.
The 15% is a global figure, so the support available in any one organisation is a question for HR.
A working manager can build the skills in small steps.
- Pick one recurring task, such as a weekly report, rebuild it with an AI tool and keep the original as a check.
- Learn to question numbers: basic statistics and how the team's dashboards are built.
- Write down the reasoning behind each significant decision for a month, then review which reasons held.
- Ask HR what learning support exists before paying for anything.
- Choose a formal route when a credential is the goal, and keep work samples either way, since a certificate alone does not show the skill.
Studying alongside a job is covered in how to do an MBA while working full time in India, and the age and experience questions are in is 30 too late for an MBA. The Masai guide to an MBA in technology management describes the degree category itself.
Where does the Executive MBA Technology from IIT Jodhpur fit in this skill set?
Executive MBA Technology from IIT Jodhpur is a postgraduate management degree for working professionals, taught in live online sessions by IIT Jodhpur faculty with on-campus immersions. It covers core management and AI in business, with specialisation pathways in Analytics and AI or Digital Product Management. Applicants need at least two years of full-time work experience and an entrance exam. It is one route among several; the skills ranking above describes what recruiters say, not what any programme delivers.
Frequently asked questions
What do recruiters actually look for in MBA graduates in 2026?
GMAC's 2026 survey of employers in Central and South Asia lists technology/IT skills (81%), communication (75%) and skills using AI tools (71%) as the top current skills, with decision-making (73%) leading the future list. The figures are regional employer opinion and cover India and its neighbours.
Which MBA is good for a working professional?
One whose schedule, campus requirement and completion window fit the job, from an institution recognised for the admission session on the UGC Distance Education Bureau website. Recognition and timetable come before any skills comparison.
Is an MBA worth it in 2026?
Hiring plans are steady: 36% of employers planned to hire more MBA graduates and 42% the same in GMAC's 2026 survey, although global applications fell 13%. Worth depends on goals, recognition and pay data, which is an executive MBA worth it in India examines.
Do managers need to learn to code?
Recruiters rank technology/IT skills first (81%) and skills using AI tools third (71%), which describe working with systems and tools. Whether that includes writing code depends on the role, so the job description is the better guide.
Is AI replacing entry-level jobs in India?
GMAC's global 2026 survey, not an India figure, found one in three employers had replaced at least some entry-level roles with AI, without saying how many roles. Employers in Central and South Asia, in a separate profile, rank skills using AI tools third among current skills at 71%.
Next step
The Executive MBA Technology, IIT Jodhpur page sets out the curriculum and how to apply. Related reading: How to do an MBA while working full time in India.