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View All NewsWorld – European countries dominate talent report
Four of the five countries most able to develop, attract, and retain talent are European, according to the World Talent Report 2014, compiled by Swiss business school IMD.
Switzerland retains its position at the top, with Denmark also retaining its position at number two. Germany rose from sixth last year to third this year, while Finland remained unmoved in fourth.
The only non-European country in the top five was Malaysia, which improved four places from last year.
The Talent report assesses countries on their ability to invest in and develop home-grown talent, the ability to not only retain that talent but also attract overseas talent, and the ability to fulfil market demands with the available talent pool.
The ranking is structured according to three factors; investment and development, appeal, and readiness.
The investment and development factor takes into account the investment in, and development of, the home-grown talent. It traces the size of public investment on education and looks at the quality of education. The development of talent is covered by variable related to the implementation apprenticeships and the priority of employee training by companies. It also looks at the development of the female labour force.
The investment and development factor’s top five:
Rank | Country |
1 | Denmark |
2 | Switzerland |
3 | Austria |
4 | Germany |
5 | Sweden |
The appeal factor goes beyond the focus on the local labour force and incorporates the ability of the country to tap into the overseas talent pool. It does so by including indicators such as the cost of living and quality of life. Specifically it examines the ability of the country to attract highly-skilled foreign labour. A component of the way enterprises prioritise the attraction and retention of talent also evaluates the impact of the brain drain on the competitiveness of countries.
The appeal factor’s top five:
Rank | Country |
1 | Switzerland |
2 | Germany |
3 | USA |
4 | Ireland |
5 | Malaysia |
The success of the investment in, and development of, talent and the ability to attract and retain talent is reflected in the availability of skills and competencies to sustain an economy’s talent pool.
The readiness factor looks at the context of the talent pool, taking into consideration the growth of the labour force and the quality of the skills available. It also takes into consideration the experience and competencies of the existing senior managers’ pool. The readiness factor focuses, in addition, on the ability of the educational system to meet the talent needs of enterprises. It examines the way in which the educational system fulfils the talent demands of the economy, the ability of higher education to meet that demand and the languages skills available.
The readiness factor’s top five
Rank | Country |
1 | Switzerland |
2 | Finland |
3 | Netherlands |
4 | Denmark |
5 | United Arab Emirates |
To access the full report, click here.