- Entrepreneurial talent has become a key differentiator in relative talent competitiveness
- Talent still drawn to small, high-income economies and the United States
- Washington, DC is the top performer in the cities’ ranking
- Five-year analysis shows talent gap widening between unequal economies
Toronto, Canada, 21 January 2019: The 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) report reveals that Switzerland, Singapore and the United States continue to lead the world in talent competitiveness, while countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa are seeing a progressive erosion of their talent base. The report confirms that talent issues have become a mainstream concern for firms, nations and cities, with talent performance seen as a critical factor to growth and prosperity.
This year’s report has a special focus on entrepreneurial talent - how it is being encouraged, nurtured and developed throughout the world and how this affects the relative competitiveness of different economies. New approaches are emerging to stimulate entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial talent and futureproof employees – for example, the efforts to develop bottom up innovation and empower employees. Such progress is especially true in the cities, where ‘Smart cities’ ecosystems are increasingly acting as talent magnets. The results further show:
- The highest-ranking countries and cities tend to be the most open to entrepreneurial talent;
- Digitalization and globalization are increasing the role of entrepreneurial talent.
The report also reveals that cities rather than countries are developing stronger roles as talent hubs and will be crucial to reshaping the global talent scene. This growing importance of cities is due to their greater flexibility and ability to adapt to new trends and patterns – as nimble economic units where policy can be changed more swiftly, cities are thus more attractive for talent, especially entrepreneurial talent.
The top-ranked city this year is Washington, DC, followed by Copenhagen, Oslo, Vienna and Zurich. Washington’s position can be attributed to its strong performance across four of the five pillars measured in the research, specifically in the “Be Global”, “Attract”, “Grow” and “Enable” pillars. Its steady economy, dynamic population, outstanding infrastructure and connectivity, highly-skilled workforce and world class education are all characteristics which contribute to making the city such a talent hub.
The longer view
For the first time, the 2019 GTCI provides a longitudinal analysis of talent competitiveness based on the results of all GTCI editions since 2013. The main finding is that the gap separating the talent champions from the rest of the global community has been growing. Talent competitiveness is strengthening in groups of countries where it is already comparatively high and weakening in those where it is relatively low.
Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director, Global Indices, INSEAD, and co-editor of the report, commented: “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.”
Felipe Monteiro, INSEAD Affiliate Professor of Strategy, Academic Director, and co-editor of the report, further stated: “Entrepreneurship appears to be a decisive talent to succeed; all types of organizations have to attract and enhance entrepreneurial talent, in an era where ecosystems around the globe are drastically reshaped by digital transformation.”
Alain Dehaze, Chief Executive Officer, the Adecco Group said: “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. The results of this year’s GTCI report are further evidence of how entrepreneurial talent is being increasingly seen as one way of successfully navigating a world in constant flux. 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.”
Vinod Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Communications explained: “The concept of openness is critical for entrepreneurial talent, and business culture plays a key role here. Businesses and cities need to work hand-in-hand to cultivate cultures of intrapreneurship and a mindset of continuous learning above all else, as the human factor is key to the success of digital transformation. This will help unlock the positive potential that technology brings - especially in a world where humans and machines will work side-by-side and different types of collaboration and ideation emerge.”
The 2019 GTCI report, published today by INSEAD, the Business School for the World, in partnership with the Adecco Group and Tata Communications, is a comprehensive annual benchmarking measuring how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent, providing a unique resource for decision makers to understand the global talent competitiveness picture and develop strategies for boosting their competitiveness.
The report measures levels of Global Talent Competitiveness by looking at 68 variables. The 2019 index covers 125 national economies and 114 cities (respectively 119 and 90 in 2018) across all groups of income and levels of development.
2019 Top 20 rankings – countries
In this sixth edition, Switzerland continues to lead the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness index, while Singapore and the United States come in second and third respectively as they did in 2018. The top three is followed by Scandinavian countries, Norway (4th), Denmark (5th), Finland (6th), and Sweden (7th). Yemen has finished at the bottom of this year’s index at 125th, just below Congo (124th) and Burundi (123rd).
As in previous years, higher rankings are associated with higher income levels. Policies and practices that bring about talent competitiveness in more developed countries are less susceptible to political and socioeconomic fluctuations. High-income economies have the stability to invest in lifelong learning, reinforcing skills, and attracting and retaining global talent.
2018 Top GTCI 25 Rankings
The index assesses the policies and practices that enable a country to attract, develop and retain both ‘Technical/Vocational skills’ and the ‘Global Knowledge skills’ associated with innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership – the talent that contributes to productivity and prosperity.
| Overall rank |
Country |
Score |
| 1 |
Switzerland |
81.82 |
| 2 |
Singapore |
77.27 |
| 3 |
United States of America |
76.64 |
| 4 |
Norway |
74.67 |
| 5 |
Denmark |
73.85 |
| 6 |
Finland |
73.78 |
| 7 |
Sweden |
73.53 |
| 8 |
Netherlands |
73.02 |
| 9 |
United Kingdom |
71.44 |
| 10 |
Luxembourg |
71.18 |
| 11 |
New Zealand |
71.12 |
| 12 |
Australia |
71.08 |
| 13 |
Iceland |
71.03 |
| 14 |
Germany |
70.72 |
| 15 |
Canada |
70.43 |
| 16 |
Ireland |
70.15 |
| 17 |
Belgium |
68.48 |
| 18 |
Austria |
68.31 |
| 19 |
United Arab Emirates |
65.90 |
| 20 |
Israel |
63.26 |
2019 Top 10 Ranking - cities
The leading cities are best at performing well across the five pillars of the talent spectrum. The top-ranked city - Washington, DC - exemplifies this, being a top 10 city in three of five dimensions. The increasingly central roles of cities as entrepreneurial talent hubs also underline the importance of developing strong and vibrant ecosystems, especially around innovation.
| Overall rank |
City |
Score |
| 1 |
Washington, DC (United States) |
69.2 |
| 2 |
Copenhagen (Denmark) |
68.0 |
| 3 |
Oslo (Norway) |
66.1 |
| 4 |
Vienna (Austria) |
65.7 |
| 5 |
Zurich (Switzerland) |
65.5 |
| 6 |
Boston (United States) |
65.4 |
| 7 |
Helsinki (Finland) |
65.0 |
| 8 |
New York (United States) |
64.6 |
| 9 |
Paris (France) |
63.5 |
| 10 |
Seoul (Korea, Rep.) |
62.7 |
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About INSEAD, The Business School for the World
As one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society. A global perspective and cultural diversity are reflected in all aspects of its research and teaching.
With campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi), INSEAD’s business education and research spans three continents. The school’s 154 renowned Faculty members from 40 countries inspire more than 1,400 degree participants annually in its MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Master in Finance, Executive Master in Change and PhD programs. In addition, more than 11,000 executives participate in INSEAD’s executive education programs each year.
In addition to INSEAD’s programs on its three campuses, INSEAD participates in academic partnerships with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia & San Francisco); the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago; the Johns Hopkins University/SAIS in Washington DC and the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York; and MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Asia, INSEAD partners with School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. INSEAD is a founding member in the multidisciplinary Sorbonne University created in 2012, and also partners with Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil.
INSEAD became a pioneer of international business education with the graduation of the first MBA class on the Fontainebleau campus in Europe in 1960. In 2000, INSEAD opened its Asia campus in Singapore. In 2007, the school inaugurated a Centre for Research and Executive Education in the United Arab Emirates and officially opened the Middle East Campus in Abu Dhabi in 2010.
Around the world and over the decades, INSEAD continues to conduct cutting edge research and to innovate across all its programs to provide business leaders with the knowledge and sensitivity to operate anywhere. These core values have enabled INSEAD to become truly “The Business School for the World”.
www.insead.edu
About The Adecco Group
The Adecco Group is the world’s leading HR solutions partner. We provide more than 700,000 people with permanent and flexible employment every day. With more than 34,000 employees in 60 countries, we transform the world of work one job at a time. Our colleagues serve more than 100,000 organizations with the talent, HR services and cutting-edge technology they need to succeed in an ever-changing global economy. As a Fortune Global 500 company, we lead by example, creating shared value that meets social needs while driving business innovation. Our culture of inclusivity, fairness and teamwork empowers individuals and organizations, fuels economies, and builds better societies. These values resonate with our employees, who voted us number 5 on the Great Place to Work®—World’s Best Workplaces 2018 list. We make the future work for everyone. The Adecco Group is based in Zurich, Switzerland. Adecco Group AG is registered in Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN). The group is powered by nine global brands: Adecco, Adia, Modis, Badenoch & Clark, General Assembly, Lee Hecht Harrison, Pontoon, Spring Professional and YOSS.
www.adeccogroup.com
About Adecco Canada
Adecco is one of the leading and most comprehensive staffing and workforce solutions company in the country specializing in search and placement services for temporary and permanent personnel, contingent workforce management, master vendor programs (MVP) delivery, professional resource augmentation, contractor management and recruitment consulting.
Adecco operates across numerous industry verticals and leverages its specialized divisions to offer specialized recruitment solutions, designed to maximize operational efficiencies in the areas of: engineering, IT, skilled trades, professional, management and general staffing.
Visit the Adecco Canada website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter @AdeccoCanada and Instagram.
About Tata Communications
Tata Communications is a leading global digital infrastructure provider that powers today’s fast growing digital economy.
The company’s customers represent 300 of the Fortune 500 whose digital transformation journeys are enabled by its portfolio of integrated, globally managed services that deliver local customer experiences. Through its network, cloud, mobility, Internet of Things (IoT), collaboration and security services, Tata Communications carries around 30% of the world’s internet routes and connects businesses to 60% of the world’s cloud giants and 4 out of 5 mobile subscribers.
The company’s capabilities are underpinned by its global network. It is the world’s largest wholly owned subsea fibre backbone and a Tier-1 IP network with connectivity to more than 240 countries and territories.
Tata Communications Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India and is present in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
www.tatacommunications.com