UAE only Middle East nation to figure among top 20 in 2018 Global Talent Competitiveness Index
UAE - The UAE is the only country from the Middle East to figure among the top 20 nations in the 2018 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), and is ahead of Germany, Japan and France in the list that ranks Switzerland No.1.
The GTCI report found that Singapore and the United States are in second and third positions, respectively, in terms of talent competitiveness. European countries continue to dominate the GTCI rankings, with 15 in the top 25. This year's edition also revealed that the top 10 countries have several key characteristics in common and share one major feature: they all have a well-developed educational system providing the social and collaboration skills needed for employability in today's labour market.
In the Global Cities Talent Competitiveness Index, Zurich is top this year. Eight out of the top 10-ranked cities are located in Europe and two in the US.
"High-ranking cities show similarities. As in the case of countries, over time, higher GDP levels naturally lead to higher technology penetration, creating ecosystems with better quality education, business, healthcare and infrastructure. The impact of dense and efficient information networks is particularly important when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, as shown by the performance of smart cities such as Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Doha," said the report.
There are several other characteristics in common between the top-ranking countries. These include a flexible regulatory and business landscape; employment policies which combine flexibility and social protection, and external and internal openness.
The report, published by Insead, in partnership with Adecco Group and Tata Communications, investigated the theme of 'Diversity for Competitiveness' .
"The capacity to leverage diversity requires bold and visionary leadership - at the level of organisations, cities, and nations. In this regard, cities are perfect labs," said Bruno Lanvin, co-editor of the report.
"Views of diversity have evolved significantly during the last few decades," explains Paul Evans, co-editor of the report. "Acceptance of diversity begins in the family and at school. Formal education [from kindergarten to tertiary education] has a crucial responsibility in building the collaborative competences needed for a more inclusive world," said Lanvin.
Vinod Kumar, CEO and managing director of Tata Communications, asserts the view that as digital transformation becomes a priority for more and more organisations, highly-automated technologies fuelled by AI are entering the workplace. "As humans and machines start to work side-by-side, businesses must start viewing talent and diversity generated competitiveness as extending beyond humankind to include machine. In accepting the primacy of digital infrastructure, neither talent nor diversity will be considered as exclusive to people alone," he added.
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