IMD World Talent Ranking 2022

Figure 5: “Foreign highly-skilled personnel are attracted to your country” (score 0-10) in 2019 – 2022. Source: IMD (2022)

5. Conclusions

The 2022 WTR brings forth familiar themes. Talent competitive economies have the ability to develop their homegrown highly skilled labor while providing an envi ronment that is so appealing that it attracts and retains both domestic and international talent. The development of local talent depends on a strong education system as well as life-long learning opportunities provided by companies through apprenticeships, internships and employee training. An appealing environment for talent is fostered by good remuneration, a lower level of taxes and a cheaper cost of living, together with a higher quality of life (affected, for instance, by the quality of the education system) and a fair judicial system.

impact on skilled individuals’ decisions to leave a partic ular country. Travel constraints and country lockdowns forced skilled employees to remain in their domestic markets. Talent mobility therefore declined. However, economies that compensated by strengthening their quality of life as well as their commitment to envi ronmental issues, experienced some increase – however minor – with respect to attracting skilled labor. Considering some companies’ re-evaluation of remote working policies, it remains to be seen how much these trends will persist in the long-term.

The pre- and post-pandemic patterns with respect to brain drain show that COVID-19 has had a profound

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