Singapore rises to second in talent competitiveness globally, and to top spot in Apac

CITY-state Singapore moved up one spot to clinch second position in the 2021 global talent competitiveness index (GTCI) report, falling behind only Switzerland, and achieving the top position in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the report published on Tuesday (Oct 19) by INSEAD and the Portulans Institute, Singapore was in the top 3 positions in 4 out of 6 pillars. It was second in the "Enable", "Attract", and "Grow" pillars, and third in the "Global knowledge skills" pillar.

As in previous years, higher rankings are associated with higher income levels. Policies and practices that bring about talent competitiveness in more developed countries make these countries less susceptible to political and socioeconomic fluctuations. These countries have the stability to invest in life-long learning, reinforcing of skills, as well as attracting and retaining global talent, the report noted.

Separately, in the category of global city competitiveness, Singapore fell to seventh position, previously from third, with an overall score of 67.2 out of 100. It is also one of the two top 20 Asean countries, with Hong Kong in 20th position.

The report pointed out that megapolises such as San Francisco, which secured the top position with an overall score of 76.3, are "back in the scene" as they adapted better to Covid-related challenges.

"The Smart Nation (Singapore) continues to enjoy a growing reputation in attracting talents around specific areas (such as bio-nanotechnologies), and its ability to offer innovative solutions for the public sector (such as e-government). Its continued top performance in the education sector (such as the programme for international student assessment) and ability to stimulate diversity in its workforce (gender, confessional, ethnical) remain strong assets," said distinguished fellow at INSEAD and co-editor of the report, Bruno Lanvin.

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He noted that altogether, cities around the world proved agile and imaginative in mobilising available talents to identify and implement solutions to unprecedented and complex situations.

"Cities with distinctive features for future-readiness tend to dominate the rankings. Capabilities in AI (artificial intelligence) or advanced technologies (including fintech, healthtech and medtech) clearly favour the talent performance of cities such as San Francisco, Boston and Singapore, and, to a lesser but still significant extent, Luxembourg, Geneva, Dublin, and Zurich," he added.

European countries dominated the top global positions, with 17 of them in the top 25. China broke into the top 40 list for the first time to come in at 37th.

"China has now firmly established itself as a member of GTCI's 'Talent Champion', and the speed at which it was able to secure that position is without equivalent in the world," said Dr Lanvin.

The report findings highlighted that many opportunities have been offered to countries and cities to experiment with novel ways of attracting talent. This is a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has redefined the ways companies work; the accelerated adoption of collaborative tools has redefined the ways individuals and teams could bring value to private businesses and public entities.

The pandemic has also redefined the international mobility of talents, which will have long term effects on the labour market, noted the report.

Inequalities brought about by the pandemic, was another central theme of the findings. On the international level, countries which cannot accelerate their digital transformation may widen their digital divides and get left behind. On an individual level, there are more employment opportunities in recovery sectors such as in technology and retail of software services, rather than travel or entertainment.

"In its third year of providing longitudinal analysis, GTCI data suggests that the gap between the most talent-competitive countries and the rest is widening. The policy implication is clear: stakeholders should take steps to ensure that the underlying dimensions of talent competitiveness are strengthened, especially for countries and those segments of the population already under pressure," the report observed.

Academic director of the GTCI and INSEAD Senior Affiliate Professor of Strategy Felipe Monteiro said that it is now time to "think post-pandemic" as jobs linked to digital transformation and the greening of most sectors will be in high demand across geographies.

"Top-ranked Switzerland and Singapore are speeding up transitions to a sustainable, future-proof economy. Switzerland is strengthening its position as a leader in sustainable finance and Singapore is forging ahead with its ambitious 'Green Plan 2030' and making headways in digital trade and green economy cooperation with China," he added.