Qatar ranks among top MENA countries on 3rd Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Qatar maintained its high ranking in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16 released by INSEAD, the business school for the world. The GTCI is an annual study based on research in partnership with the Adecco Group and the Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore (HCLI). This year’s theme of ‘Talent Attraction and International Mobility’ focuses on findings linked to the significant correlation between movement of talent and economic prosperity.

Qatar ranked number 24 out of 109 countries, gaining one spot over its position on the index last year. Qatar also boasts of one of the best standards of living, the quality of lifestyle ranking rose from 26 in 2014 to number two in 2015. The sustainability ranking for retaining talent gained on the index, rising from 41 in 2014 to 26 in 2015. The regulatory, market & business landscape was also conducive to attracting talent, rising from a ranking of 12 in 2014 to five in 2015. Qatar ranked number one in the world in labour market flexibility and in attracting international students. Its tax free business environment also contributed to its number one ranking in the taxation variable on the index.

Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director of Global Indices at INSEAD, and co-editor of the report, commented: “Qatar has shown tremendous leadership in growing its non-hydrocarbon wealth. A strong banking sector, high quality in ICT and telecom services, multiple infrastructure projects and the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ continue to attract talent to the nation. World class universities have set up base here, attracting students from the world over, many who choose to stay and continue to add to the wealth of human capital.”

He elaborated: “Temporary economic mobility of highly skilled people may initially be seen as a loss for their country of origin, countries have to understand that this translates into a net gain when they return home. GCC countries have benefited from talent arriving from across the world and by building world-class universities to develop local human capital. The skills that an expat gains working in these dynamic markets, mixing with different cultures, are invaluable assets when he moves onwards. Such an international experience is what top organizations are looking for today.”

Speaking on the future trends in the job market, he warned however that: “At the same time, new technologies might create new challenges for workers at different skill levels: low-skill jobs are being destroyed by automation; medium-skill jobs may be displaced by algorithms; this will be a key feature of so-called ‘industry 4.0’ ”.

Global Talent Competitiveness Index rankings (MENA countries)

GTCI Input Sub-Index rankings

The report cited that mobility is vital to fill skill gaps; and a high proportion of innovative, entrepreneurial people were born or studied abroad. It is hence not surprising that top ranking countries have positioned themselves as desirable destinations for high-skilled workers. Faced with new types of migration flows, decision makers need to shape policies and strategies to address both the immediate concerns of their constituencies and the longer-term interests of their citizens.

Through analyses and comparisons of the scores registered by individual countries, a number of patterns and similarities emerge, converging towards eight key messages relating to this year’s theme:

• Mobility has become a key ingredient of talent development: creative talent cannot be fully developed if international mobility and ‘brain circulation’ are not encouraged.  
• The migration debate needs to move from emotions to solutions: countries will find it advantageous to address movements of people through a talent perspective.  
• Management practices make a difference in attracting talent: apart from monetary incentives and standard of living, another important differentiator in talent attraction is the professionalism of management and investment in employee development.
• While people continue to move to jobs and opportunities, jobs are now moving to where the talent is: some countries have started to attract the attention of international investors because of creative talent at a reasonable cost: China, South Korea, Philippines and Vietnam in the Asia Pacific region; Malta, Slovenia, Cyprus and Moldova in the European region; Turkey, Jordan and Tunisia in the MENA region; and Panama in Central America.
• New ‘talent magnets’ are emerging: While the US, Singapore and Switzerland have long been attractive to talent, competition may become fierce among emerging talent hubs such as Indonesia, Jordan, Chile, South Korea, Rwanda and Azerbaijan, as more aspire to join these increasingly attractive destinations.
• Low-skilled workers continue to be replaced by robots, while knowledge workers are displaced by algorithms: as mobility continues to be redefined in new ways, notably through technology, knowledge workers are affected and this shift signals that entire sectors of activity may be displaced. Some people may have to work virtually for different employers from their homes, while others have to retrain and move far to obtain jobs.   
• In a world of talent circulation, cities and regions are becoming critical players in the competition for global talent: agility and branding of cities seem to be more critical differentiators than size as an increasing number of large cities adopt imaginative policies to attract global talent.
• Scarce vocational skills continue to handicap emerging countries: gaps in vocational skills continue to exist in emerging countries such as China, India, and South Africa, and particularly in Brazil where talent capabilities show signs of weakening on all fronts. This is also true for some high-income countries such as Ireland, Belgium and Spain.

Paul Evans, The Shell Chair Professor of Human Resources and Organisational Development, Emeritus, at INSEAD, and Academic Director and co-editor of the Global Talent Competitiveness Index, noted: “Our global data analysis shows it takes more than pay to attract and retain talent, also from abroad — the quality of management practices is increasingly important. While higher educational opportunities remains a key factor of talent attractionand retention, an increasingly important pull factor lies in the professionalism of companies and management practices, exemplified by highly ranked Nordiccountries which score particularly high on meritocracy, professionalmanagement and attention to employee development. This is especially important for the millennial generation who willbecome the creative leaders of the future.” 

The top three countries ranked on talent competitiveness are Switzerland at number one, followed by Singapore and Luxembourg in second and third places, respectively, remaining the same as in 2014.

Countries ranked in the top 10 clearly demonstrated openness in terms of talent mobility — close to 25% of the respective populations of Switzerland and Luxembourg were born abroad; the proportion is even 43% in Singapore. The proportion is also significant in the United States (4), Canada (9), New Zealand (11), Austria (15), and Ireland (16). There has been little change in the top 20 since the release of the last edition of the GTCI report, with the exception of Czech Republic (20) entering this group, New Zealand improving its performance significantly, while Canada and Ireland saw modest declines.

This year’s GTCI country coverage has improved, allowing the report to cover 109 countries (versus 93 countries in 2014), representing 83.8 percent of the world’s population and 96.2 percent of the world’s GDP.

For more information on the Global Talent Competitiveness Index and to download the full report, please visit: http://adec.co/GTCIreport2015. Follow twitter: #GTCI for updates; YouTube Knowledge Video: https://youtu.be/UVPwXkPEAUM; Download the GTCI 2015-16 Infographic at this link; Watch the GTCI 2015-16 Video graphic at this link