[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – Singapore has moved up one spot to ninth on the list of the most competitive places for talent in the world this year, according to a report released on Thursday (November 12).
But Singapore’s ranking in the future may be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, like many other countries in the world that depend on foreign talent such as the United States, Australia and Great Britain.
Singapore is the only Asian country to be in the top 10 in the latest ranking, with Switzerland at No. 1 followed by Denmark and Luxembourg.
The report and ranking, published by the Swiss business school IMD, capture the ability of an economy to develop and attract talent to strengthen its competitiveness.
The report assesses the development, attraction and retention of human capital in 63 economies.
It measures three factors: investment and development, attractiveness and readiness.
The investment and development factor measures the resources devoted to cultivating a local workforce.
The attractiveness factor assesses the extent to which an economy attracts foreign talent and retains local talent, while the readiness factor measures the quality of skills and competencies available in a country’s talent pool.
Eight of the top ten economies are European and this is due to quality education and good mobility, the report noted.
“Overall, Western European countries remain, on average, the most competitive in terms of talent in the world … But due to aging populations, these economies must remain open and attractive to a young, international, and global workforce. highly skilled in order to make up for future labor shortages, “IMD’s Center for Global Competitiveness said in a press release.
He said the Asia-Pacific region had been relatively stable in recent years, with improvements in Singapore and the Philippines and small declines in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Although Asia-Pacific countries saw a slow increase in female labor force participation in recent years, the report said they were still performing poorly relative to other economies.
This year, Singapore improved on investment and development, with initiatives such as apprenticeships, employee training, quality of education and female participation in the workforce, the report noted.
It also remains at the top of the rankings in readiness, with its availability of skilled labor and financial skills.
But an aging population, high cost of living, and pollution may be future challenges.
The Singapore location could also be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which could seriously affect countries that base their overall competitiveness on the talent economy, as a large part of this is due to the attraction of talent from abroad. said the center.
Among them are Singapore, Australia, the United States and Great Britain, all of which have a long history of welcoming foreign students who can then join the workforce.
“These countries cannot be sure of attracting the best workers at the moment, and may well look for other ways to be competitive. There is a risk that they will decide to turn inward in their efforts to revitalize their economies, backtracking on their openness. , which will do nothing to attract foreign talent or retain local talent, “said Christos Cabolis, chief economist at IMD’s Center for Global Competitiveness.
But he added that for Singapore, travel restrictions now shouldn’t substantially affect its appeal to highly skilled foreign professionals in the short term, especially if a vaccine is also available next year.
“However, a lasting effect of the pandemic in the medium and long term could be a more open approach by companies to working from home or remotely, thus reducing the need for staff to move abroad,” he said .
“Singapore must continue to improve in areas that have proven attractive to foreign talent, such as providing a superior quality of life, satisfying career opportunities, a safe environment with low crime rates, good environmental conditions (low pollution) and wages attractive.. “
[ad_2]
