SINGAPORE has retained its position as the world’s second most talent-competitive country and the top spot in the Asia-Pacific region.

This is according to the 2023 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) report by business school Insead.

For the third consecutive year, the Republic came in behind Switzerland, which has taken first place on the index since 2013. The US was ranked third; Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Australia, Sweden and the UK rounded off the top 10.

The annual GTCI, which is published by Insead in collaboration with the Descartes Institute for the Future and the Human Capital Leadership Institute, measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent.

The report is in its 10th edition and covers 134 countries across all income groups.

In the latest GTCI report, Singapore was ranked top three in four of six pillars on talent competitiveness. It topped the pillar on global knowledge skills, while coming in second under the “attract” pillar and third in both the “grow” and “vocational and technical skills” pillars.

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The report found that developed, high-income countries continue to dominate the top positions in GTCI rankings, with a high correlation observed between gross domestic product per capita and GTCI scores. In fact, eight of the top 10 countries in this year’s GTCI rankings were ranked in the top 10 in the first edition of the GTCI, published in 2013.

The 2023 report also outlined six major trends that have emerged in the talent landscape over the past 10 years.

These include widening talent inequalities, which remain high across countries, with poorer economies performing worse on the talent scene as compared to richer peers. Such inequalities persist, especially in some parts of the world where women continue to face unequal pay and limited career growth.

National and organisation talent strategies have also had to adapt to a “dramatically changed environment for education, work, and activity” in a post-Covid world, said the report. For one, remote working and online collaboration will become more commonplace across all types of economies and societies.

Another key finding from the report is that a newer generation of workers with shifting priorities is reshaping the world of work.

For instance, a growing proportion of higher-educated workers are seeking meaningful jobs where they can contribute to society, or those with a healthier work-life balance, as opposed to prioritising the acquisition of highly-demanded skills, the report noted.

Based on the report’s projections, the competition for talent is set to grow fiercer in the next decade. There will be more talent wars, “as uncertainties and international tensions continue to accumulate in trade, investment, politics and diplomacy”, it said.

“Talent competition will be one of the pillars of the next age of globalisation,” noted Bruno Lanvin, co-author of the report and distinguished fellow at Insead and co-founder of Portulans Institute.

“Our collective ability to make the world less unequal and the planet more sustainable will depend heavily on our capacity to grow, attract and nurture the right talents.”