Singapore leads APAC in talent competitiveness

Globally, it came in second to Switzerland.

Singapore retained its top spot amongst its peers in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region in talent competitiveness on the back of its strong education sector, according to the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI).

Worldwide, it came in second place with a GTCI score of 77.27 to Switzerland (81.82) which continued to hold its title as the most talent competitive country. Coming in at third was the US (76.64), followed by Scandinavian countries Norway (74.67) and Denmark (73.85). Singapore was the only APAC country to come in the top 10, with New Zealand and Australia placing at 11th and 12th, respectively.

Also read: Here's why Singapore can't be the best country in attracting talent

The 2019 GTCI report published by INSEAD in partnership with Adecco Group and Tata Communications is a comprehensive annual benchmark study measuring how countries and cities grow, and attract and retain talent to provide decision makers with an overall picture of global talent competitiveness. The GTCI looked at 68 variables in over 125 economies across all groups of income and levels of development.

“Whilst Singapore’s performance across rankings is more varied, it is the highest-scoring country in no fewer than three pillars: Enable, Attract and Global Knowledge skills,” the report revealed. “The city-state is also one of the strongest performers with respect to the pillar on vocational and technical skills despite its low rankings on workforce with secondary education and population with secondary education.”

Singapore’s performance remained lacking in the pillar of retaining talent (26th) with room for improvement with regards to the sustainability (23rd) and lifestyle (31st) subcomponents. The report noted how the dispersion of scores was the largest in the retain pillar and smallest in the attract pillar which suggested that the ability of countries to retain talent sets them apart from their capabilities to attract talent.

Also read: Singapore is a more competitive talent hub than Hong Kong

“The face of entrepreneurship has changed a lot over the last decade because of digitalisation and because of the transformation of labour markets,” Frédéric Mazzella, founder and CEO for online carpooling marketplace, said in the report. “Different types of talents might be needed according to a given task, although entrepreneurial talent seems very relevant in today’s digital world, especially from the perspective of organisations that are starting or scaling up.”

Mazella further added that location-wise, Singapore, Paris, Switzerland and Amsterdam are the best examples to follow regarding the stimulation and leverage of entrepreneurial talent.