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A survey of 647 employers across industries has found that business schools are not adequately preparing graduates for workplaces where AI is already embedded in everyday tasks, according to research by faculty at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business.
The 2026 Early-Career Skills Outlook found that employers consistently ranked communication, professionalism, teamwork, reliability and critical thinking as the qualities they valued most in recent graduates. AI skills mattered, but did not on their own distinguish the strongest candidates.
The deeper problem, the researchers argue, is structural. Entry-level roles have historically been where new graduates developed professional judgment learning to analyse data, draft reports and solve problems alongside experienced colleagues. As AI automates more of that routine work, those on-the-job learning opportunities are shrinking. Graduates may enter employment with fewer chances to practise the human capabilities employers still prize most.
Many business schools have begun incorporating AI into their curricula, but students are often still being trained for a template of early-career work that no longer reflects many actual workplaces. The researchers say the challenge has shifted: it is not enough to teach students how to use AI tools. They must also learn to question AI outputs and recognise when human judgment should take precedence.
The researchers call for business schools to reconsider how responsibility is divided between academic institutions and employers. Schools have traditionally built foundational knowledge; workplaces have supplied the experiences through which graduates developed judgment. With AI reshaping that second stage, educators may need to provide more of what the workplace once did.
LeBow's own programs are cited as an example of institutions attempting to integrate AI while retaining a focus on human judgment, though the researchers acknowledge the broader sector has yet to move at the required pace.
