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Singapore placed 13th in World Talent Rankings, best in Asia Pacific

FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore
FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore

Singapore maintained its position as the world’s 13th-best economy in developing, attracting and retaining highly-skilled professionals, according to the fifth edition of the World Talent Rankings by Swiss business school IMD, released on Tuesday (20 November).

Its position is also the best among the Asia Pacific economies, ahead of Hong Kong (18th) and Malaysia (22nd). Hong Kong was ranked one position ahead of Singapore last year.

Switzerland topped the rankings, followed by Denmark and Norway. The other countries that complete the top 10 are: Austria, Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Germany.

Among the 63 economies surveyed, the United States is ranked 12th while China is in 39th spot. Ukraine enjoyed the biggest jump (48th, from 59th last year), while Slovakia suffered the biggest drop (59th, from 46th last year).

IMD surveyed over 6,000 executives, and assessed the economies on three main factors: investment and development, appeal and readiness. Among these factors are indicators that capture the resources invested in developing local talent, the extent to which a country attracts and retains talent, as well as the quality of skills available in the talent pool.

Ranked high in readiness

Singapore is ranked second in the world in readiness, topping all economies in terms of emphasis of science in schools and education level of its youths. However, it is ranked only 34th in investment and development, placing a lowly 60th in terms of total public expenditure on education in relation to its GDP. In terms of appeal, it is ranked 15th.

Both Singapore and Hong Kong continue to excel in appealing professionals from abroad to sustain their top-tier talent pool. Conversely, Malaysia’s six-spot rise up the rankings is rooted in investments in education to develop its homegrown skilled workforce, in addition to improved perceptions about the quality of the talent pool available in the country.

Arturo Bris, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center, said, “Cultivating a skilled and educated workforce is crucial to strengthening competitiveness and achieving long-term prosperity, particularly in the current dynamic landscape where artificial intelligence, robotics and other new technologies constantly redefine the challenges that governments, businesses and society in general will have to face in the future.

“This year the most successful countries in talent competitiveness are mainly European, mid-size economies. Moreover, these countries share high levels of investment in education and quality of life.”

Why Switzerland is top

Switzerland topped the rankings after being rated the best economy in apprenticeships, health infrastructure, highly-skilled foreign personnel, remuneration in the services professions, remuneration of management, the education system, university education and management education. Other strengths include international experience (second), retaining human capital (second), and quality of life (third).

The US moved up four spots with respect to last year, after showing advancements in all three talent factors. China is placed in the lower half of the rankings because of its difficulties in attracting foreign skilled workers paired with a level of public expenditure in education that is below the average of other advanced economies.

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