Leading international business school INSEAD has released the latest Global Talent Competitiveness Index, which measures nation’s competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain. The United Arab Emirates is 22nd in the overall ranking, while it remains the top talent competitive country in the Middle East.
The study was released yesterday in Davos, Switzerland and it is as usually dominated by European economies, with Switzerland topping the list of 93 countries assessed, which means it not only has skilled workforce and excellent business conditions, but it also attracts and keeps some of the most talented individuals in the world. It is followed by Singapore and Luxembourg in second and third place, respectively.
Here is 2014 Global Talent Competitiveness Index Top 10 Ranking:
- Switzerland
- Singapore
- Luxembourg
- United States
- Canada
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
- Denmark
- Australia
- Ireland
UAE has found 22nd position, which is by now the best performance for a MENA nation. It is followed by Qatar (No.25), Saudi Arabia (No.32), Lebanon (No.57), Egypt (No. 80), Morocco (No. 85), Algeria (No.91) and Yemen (No.93) at the bottom of the ranking. However, the UAE is only country in the region, along with Lebanon, which fell from its 2013’s position, when it was 19th in the world. The UAE has a particularly good performance in one of the three pillars, attracting talent – the government attracts foreign talent and expertise, as well as foreign direct investment and technology transfer. The country also ranks first when it comes to male and female migrants.
Other positive features of UAE, assessed by the GTCI, are the large productivity per employee, the international student flow, the tolerance to immigrants, the business landscape, the business-government relations, the firm-level technology absorption, as well as the safety in the country. However, it is ranked low when it comes to export of sophisticated talent, presence of scientific and technical journal articles, export of skilled labour, and vocational enrollment. However, the study points out that the UAE has a more balanced talent supply. Countries with talent deficit are the United States, Canada, Russia, Australia, Turkey, Japan and Western Europe. Some nations, on the other hand, such as Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, and Brazil talent is in surplus.
