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A survey 211 employers in 33 countries finds about 75 per cent plan to maintain or increase their hiring of business graduates.

The Globe's biweekly business-school news roundup.

Here's some year-end good cheer for business school graduates heading into the job market next year.

A new poll of global employers by the Graduate Management Admission Council finds that more than three-quarters of those planning to recruit business school graduates next year expect to maintain or boost their hiring, compared to 2013. In the survey of 211 employers in 33 countries, one in five respondents is from a Fortune 500 company.

The survey reinforces earlier reports from other organizations forecasting a reasonably robust hiring picture for 2014 despite continued global economic uncertainty.

In one sign that "demand for talent remains strong," states GMAC survey manager Rebecca Estrada in a press release, up to 58 per cent of employers plan to raise annual base salaries at or above the rate of inflation. Of those planning to hire new graduates next year, 72 per cent expect to hire MBAs compared to 81 per cent looking for holders of bachelor business degrees. As well, 36 per cent of employers expect to hire master of accounting graduates compared to 35 per cent interested in recruiting master of finance graduates.

Industry donors support HEC Montréal

In separate announcements, industry donors have pledged multiyear funding to HEC Montréal to build on its strength in research on finance industry co-operatives and the energy sector.

Desjardins Group of Lévis, Que., has donated $3.5-million over 10 years to examine best practices and regulatory issues for bank, insurance and other finance cooperatives in Quebec, the rest of Canada and globally. Desjardins, the fifth largest financial co-operative group in the world, previously funded a centre at HEC to study management of financial services in the co-operative sector.

"Since 2008, many observers said that co-operatives in many parts of the world went through it [the financial meltdown] rather well," says HEC Montréal dean Michel Patry. "The reason may have something to do the specific advantages [of co-ops] or the regulatory regimes, or other practices and the embedded culture. These are the kinds of issues we will be dealing with."

The donation is part of a $4.5-million gift by Desjardin to Campus Montréal, a proposed $500-million fundraising campaign of HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal and the Université de Montréal.

Meanwhile, nine companies have each pledged $100,000 over five years for a new chair in energy sector management to provide analysis on a politically divisive topic in Canada.

"We have been active in this area [energy] for many years and this will allow us to go to another level and be publicly visible," says Dr. Patry. "This will be a very policy-oriented chair to help with the public discussion."

Pierre-Olivier Pineau, a professor with a research focus in electricity marketing, has been named HEC's chair in energy sector management. The company donors are Bank of Montreal, Boralex, Enbridge, Gaz Métro, Golder Associés, McCarthy Tétrault, Pétrolia, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Valero.

School reappoints dean, another begins a search

Sprott School of Business dean Jerry Tomberlin has been appointed to a second term as of July 1, 2014, Carleton University announced this week. During Dr. Tomberlin's first term, the Ottawa school received accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International for its bachelor, master and doctoral programs. He has indicated that a new home for the business school will be a priority of his second term.

Meanwhile, McGill University in Montreal has set up a committee to advise the principal on a replacement for Desautels Faculty of Management dean Peter Todd, who leaves his post next March.

Accounting body aids business students

Certified General Accountants of Ontario (CGA Ontario), a self-governing professional body for 22,000 members in the province, has provided funding to 16 university and college business programs over the past five years.

The latest recipient is Sprott, which has received $327,000 (including in-kind support) over five years for several initiatives, including increased student participation in international case competitions and a new event space for students and faculty.

John Derek Clarke, CGA Ontario senior vice-president of operations, says funding to postsecondary institutions represents an investment in the future. "It is about developing the next generation of business leaders but it is also about maybe developing the next game-changing idea or innovation," he says.

CGA Ontario is in discussions with two other accounting bodies in the province on "unification" of the professional organizations, a process well under way in several other provinces.

Executive MBA scholarship set up for aboriginal learners

An indigenous peoples scholarship has been established for the executive MBA program delivered jointly by HEC Montréal and Desautels at McGill. The annual, merit-based award, worth $40,000, is part of a broader strategy by the schools to recruit managers and other working professionals from a range of backgrounds and interests, according to a press release from the schools.

Follow Jennifer Lewington and Business School News by subscribing to an RSS feed here.

Contact Jennifer at jlewington@bell.net.

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