The 2008 financial crisis made graduate hiring more difficult. At the time, employability was not yet a relevant commercial message. We were tasked with developing a strategy to bring it to the forefront for the first time in Europe. This is how we responded.

Employability as a new strategic pillar

The global recession triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers tightened the labor market worldwide. Private universities saw students and families increasingly question the value of their investment in the face of a shrinking job market. It became necessary to redefine the strategy in order to recover a clear point of differentiation. Something that had long been part of every university's offering as just one more feature moved to the forefront: employability. We were asked to develop a cross-cutting strategy that would restore the distinctive appeal of private higher education. We designed a pricing strategy, financial aid initiatives, and a stronger employability proposition, all brought together under one concept: The Nebrija Contract. We sought the involvement of hiring companies, which for the first time took on a stronger role in the training process, the commitment of faculty to reorient the model toward learning by doing, and the support of alumni as brand ambassadors. The result was a recovery in enrolment and sustained annual growth of 20% over the following years.