25-Jan-2020: Global Talent Competitiveness Index released

India has moved up eight places to the 72nd position in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2020. Switzerland topped the list of 132 nations, followed by the US and Singapore.

It was started in 2013 and is an annual benchmarking report that measures the ability of countries to compete for talent, their ability to grow, attract and retain talent. It is launched by INSEAD, a partner and sponsor of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Davos, Switzerland recently.

Theme for 2020 was ‘Global Talent in the Age of Artificial Intelligence’. It explores how the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only changing the nature of work but also forcing a re-evaluation of workplace practices, corporate structures and innovation ecosystems.

The report noted that the gap between high income, talent-rich nations and the rest of the world is widening. More than half of the population in the developing world lack basic digital skills.

The six metrics used to decide a country's rank are - enable, attract, grow, retain, vocational skills and global knowledge skills.

The report stated that India's GTCI score and GDP per capita are both lower than the other emerging market economies such as BRICS - Brazil (80th), Russia (48th), China (42nd), and South Africa (70th).

India's key strength relates to growing talent, due to its levels of lifelong learning and access to growth. However, more could be done to improve India’s educational system.

The country's highest-ranked sub-pillar is employability but the ability to match labour market demand and supply stands in contrast to the country's poor "mid-level skills", which result in a mediocre score in vocational and technical skills.

India faces the challenge of attracting and retaining talent and the weak ability to overcome it. India has to strengthen the role of minorities and women to raise the level of internal openness in the country which would make it more appealing.

22-Jan-2019: India ranks 80th on Global Talent Competitive Index 2019

At 80th rank, India moves up one position on the Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) 2019, according to a report released by INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group.

According to the report, India's biggest challenge is to improve its ability to attract and retain talent. There is a need to address its poor level of Internal Openness in particular with respect to weak gender equality and low tolerances towards minorities and immigrants—and it's disappointing showing in lifestyle indicators.

China emerged as the best performer among the BRICS countries, with an overall position of 45th. However, India performed better than its lower-income peers when it comes to growing talent and access to growth opportunities.

In the top ten of talent competitiveness ranking, only two non-European countries can be seen: Singapore and the USA. This underlines that Europe remains a talent powerhouse, but also that countries with great universities and a strong education sector are best at attracting talents. Because high-level talents are also more mobile internationally, no comparative advantage can be seen as irreversible, and those countries will need to remain open and innovative to keep their leadership.

Switzerland followed by Singapore, the US, Norway and Denmark were in the top five on the list. The talent gap between higher and lower-income countries has increased over the last five years. Countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa are seeing a progressive erosion of their talent base.

As the world of work rapidly changes, there is a danger that if countries and cities do not have the right conditions for attracting talent, people and businesses will move away and look for opportunities elsewhere. Nurturing it is a vital part of creating the right environment for talent to flourish and to lay the seeds for success in the future.

The report measures levels of Global Talent Competitiveness by looking at 68 variables such as ease of ease of hiring, gender earnings gap, and prevalence of training in firms.

Now in its sixth year, this edition of the GTCI addresses the topic of entrepreneurial talent and global competitiveness and attempts to identify the ways in which large and small firms, nations, and cities can foster entrepreneurial talent in the era of digital transformation.

22-Jan-2018: India reaches 81st in Global Talent Competitiveness Index

India has moved up on a global index of talent competitiveness to the 81st position, but remains a laggard among the BRICS nations, an annual study showed while warning that the country faces "serious risk of worsening brain drain".

While Switzerland continues to top the list released every year on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, India has improved its position from 92nd last year. India was at the 89th place in 2016 on the index that measures how countries grow, attract and retain talent.

India's ranking was the worst among the five BRICS countries in 2017 as well when China was ranked 54th, Russian Federation was placed at 56th, followed by South Africa (67) and Brazil (81). China has moved up to 43rd now, Russia to 53rd, South Africa to 63rd and Brazil to 73rd position.

As per the study released by Adecco, Insead and Tata Communications, the developed, high-income countries are still the global talent champions while Zurich, Stockholm and Oslo take the top spots in the cities' ranking.

Among the countries, Switzerland is followed by Singapore and the US. European countries dominate the top ranks, with 15 out of the top 25 places.

The report said that although in recent years we have witnessed a cooling off in the growth of emerging markets, the BRICS cannot be ignored in the global talent race and it is China (43rd) that leads the pack.

India (81st) is the laggard of this group. Formal Education (67th) and Lifelong Learning (37th) are keeping pace -- and thus the pool of Global Knowledge Skills (63rd) is solid compared with other emerging markets.

Where the country has plenty of room for improvement is in minimising brain drain while achieving a brain gain by luring back some of its talented diaspora members (it ranks 98th in the Attract pillar) and in retaining its own talent (99th in Retain) -- particularly in the context of high emigration rates of high-skilled people (India is at serious risk of worsening its brain drain despite the connection with the diasporas working in the information technology sector).

24-Jan-2017: India ranks 92nd in Global Talent Competitiveness Index

India is ranked 92nd in the latest Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2017, among the 118 countries compared, based on their ability to grow, attract and retain talent.

The Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) is an annual benchmarking report that measures the ability of countries to compete for talent. The GTCI combines the academic research and expertise of INSEAD, Singapore’s Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI) and The Adecco Group.

“The 2017 GTCI study focuses on how technology is affecting talent competitiveness and the nature of work, exploring both significant challenges and opportunities, and important shifts away from traditional working approaches".

High ranking countries share key traits, including educational systems that meet the needs of the economy, employment policies that favour flexibility, mobility and entrepreneurship, and high connectedness of stakeholders in business and government.