Canada in top 5 for human capital competitiveness

Europe dominates but Canada secures a safe 5th place for talent competitiveness. INSEAD offers advice on improvement…

Canada is among the world’s top countries for talent competitiveness, according to an annual report by business school INSEAD.

The Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) measures a nation’s competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain – Canada came out fifth.

Switzerland stole the top spot, followed by Singapore and Luxemberg. The entire top 20 was dominated by European countries, with only six exceptions: Singapore (2), the United States (4), Canada (5), Australia (9), New Zealand (16) and Japan (20).

All twenty top-scoring countries in the GTCI are high-income countries – hardly surprising, since rich countries tend to have better universities, offer a higher quality of life and provide greater remuneration. All of which increased a country’s ability to attract foreign talent while retaining home-grown talent.

However, as one of the world’s leading graduate business schools, INSEAD has also identified six key factors affecting talent competitiveness regardless of GDP per capita and development levels:

Openness
 
According to INSEAD, openness is key to talent competitiveness. “Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg all have a high degree of openness to trade, investment, immigration and new ideas, embracing globalisation while leveraging their human resources,” said the report.
 
Stability
 
Fiscally stable countries need talent competitiveness for sustainable development, argues the report.
 
Mineral or oil rich countries, or those with context-specific competitive advantage, should foster talent competitiveness to ensure sustainable prosperity,” it advises.
 
Growth

“Talent growth can be internal or external,” says INSEAD. “Some countries like the US and in Europe successfully focus on developing talent within their own borders, while others such as China attract foreign talent or send their elites abroad for further education.”
 
Employability
 
“Countries must consider employability or risk high unemployment,” warns the report.  “Switzerland, Singapore and the Nordic countries customise their education systems towards appropriate levels of 'employable skills.”

  Education
 
“Education systems need to reconsider traditional learning,” suggests INSEAD. “Talent development in the 21st century must go beyond traditional formal education and develop vocational skills.”
 
Technology
 
According to INSEAD, technology is changing the meaning of “employable skills. “Technological changes will affect new segments of the labour market, impacting the 250 million 'knowledge workers' globally today.”
 
The top 20
  1. Switzerland
  2. Singapore
  3. Luxembourg
  4. United States
  5. Canada
  6. Sweden
  7. United Kingdom
  8. Denmark
  9. Australia
  10. Ireland
  11. Norway
  12. Netherlands
  13. Finland
  14. Germany
  15. Austria
  16. New Zealand
  17. Iceland
  18. Belgium
  19. Estonia
  20. Japan
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