According to a new study from the IMD World Talent Ranking*, Ireland places 14th out of 63 economies worldwide for developing, attracting and retaining talent, ranking above both the US and UK.
The USA was in 16th place with the survey authors warning it risks losing some of its global competitiveness if it does not increase investment in public education. Meanwhile, the UK was down one spot to 21st place.
Whilst Switzerland, Denmark and Belgium remain the most competitive countries in the ranking with Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg rounding out the top 10, Ireland still managed to move up three places from last year. Therefore, Europe continues to dominate the IMD World Talent Ranking with 11 out of the 15 most talented competitive economies based on the continent.
However, there remain some negative factors that are harming Ireland's potential at moving up the ranks further. These are:
- Spending on education,
- pupil-teacher ratios,
- heath sector,
- the inflated cost of living and
- low level of language skills.
The areas where Ireland excelled in the study are:
- skilled labour,
- finance skills,
- competent senior managers,
- the ability to attract and retain talent and
- the high level of university attendance.
*The study from global business school IMD looks at how countries sustain the talent pool necessary for organisations to maximise their performances. The report draws on an in-depth survey of thousands of executives from 63 different economies, and more than two decades’ data from the IMD World Competitiveness Center.
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