PH lands at 49th in global talent ranking, but not fast enough for Asean peers

The Philippines jumped six notches to place 49th in a list that ranks countries based on their ability to attract and retain talent, yet it still ranked last among its Asean neighbors.

At its current ranking, the Philippines is still in the bottom half of 63 countries surveyed for the 2019 World Talent Ranking report by Swiss business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

The WTR ranks countries based on their ability to attract, develop and retain a talented pool of human resources that businesses can employ, according to Asian Institute of Management, IMD’s Philippine partner. A copy of the full report was not shared to reporters.

The 2019 edition used 32 criteria grouped into three factors —investment and development; appeal; and readiness. More than half were based on an executive opinion survey while the remaining half were based on statistics.

The investment and development factor measures the level of investment in and development of domestic, home-grown human resources. The appeal factor measures the ability of a country to attract and retain high-quality human resources from abroad.

The final factor, readiness, looks at the quality and growth of the existing talent pool in the economy.

The report only covered five member states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). In Asean, Singapore ranked first (and 10th globally), followed by Malaysia (22nd globally), Indonesia (41st globally) and Thailand (43rd).

While the Philippines was the most improved in Asean, it was not enough to outpace its neighbors, most of whom have recorded gains. Singapore improved by three notches and Indonesia by four. Meanwhile, Malaysia kept its ranking last year while Thailand fell one notch.

Overall, the highest ranked country was Switzerland, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Luxembourg.

The top of the ladder was dominated by small and mid-sized European countries, which all shared strong levels of investment in education and a high quality of life, IMD said in a statement.

“Most leading economies emphasize long-term talent development by focusing on investment and development. This emphasis, however, goes beyond purely academic aspects to encompass the effective implementation of apprenticeships and employee training. Such an approach ensures a consistent alignment between talent demand and supply,” said Professor Arturo Bris, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center.