A promise at the precipice

On November 7, the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2023, titled, “What differences ten years make - and what to expect for the next decade”, was published by INSEAD, the prestigious chain of business schools, in collaboration with Descartes Institute for the Future, and the Human Capital Leadership Institute. The 10th edition of the report covers 134 countries around the world, across all income groups. The index measures “how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent.”

GTCI 2023 has seen India fall sharply from rank 83 ten years ago to rank 103. India with a score of 30.37 is well below the median score of (47.8) in the countries evaluated. In 2023, China ranks 40. Ten years ago its rank in GTCI 2013 was 47.

Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd) and the United States(3rd) retain their leading positions as the world’s most talented competitive countries. Denmark (4th), the Netherlands (5th), Finland (6th), Norway (7th), Australia (8th), Sweden (9th) and the United Kingdom(10th) make up the rest of the top 10 countries.

As before, the top 25 lists are dominated by European countries (17). Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Israel are the other nations in the Top 25. Japan is a notable exception. It has also been observed that the top ten countries have largely remained the same during the last decade. With the exception of Luxemburg and Iceland, eight of the top ten countries in 2023 were also in the inaugural top ten in CTCI 2013.

GTCI 2023 shows a longer-term path followed by countries covered by the index over the past ten years and describes how talent performance changes over a long period of time. To analyse how talent competitiveness has changed over time, the report compared the countries’ performance in the two halves over the past decade – 2013 to 2018 and 2019 to 2023. It has categorised the countries into four categories namely: Talent Limpers, Talent Laggards, Talent Movers and Talent Champions. It is observed that several of the largest emerging economies are among the best improvers over the past decade. China has moved from being a talent mover to a talent champion; Mexico has moved from being a talent laggard to a talent mover. However, India has remained in the laggard category. India was in the 88th position in the 2013-18 period but slipped to 89th in the next one.

The 10th year edition of CTCI 2023 also offers a ‘time capsule’ of six key messages, to be confronted with the talent reality of 2033.

• Talent competitiveness will gain even more importance as a critical element of competitiveness, innovation and geo-political soft power for nations, cities and organisations.
• Talent competition will grow fiercer. As uncertainties and international tensions continue to accumulate (in trade, investment, politics and diplomacy), there will be growing talent wars.
• The world of work will further transform, driven by evolving expectations from younger generations, new economic models and emerging technologies like AI.
• Cities and regions will pioneer new talent strategies and innovation. Quality of life and sustainability will be critical assets for those aiming at becoming talent hubs.
• Global talent-focused policies will be crucial to prevent tensions and harness human and technological potential for a better, more sustainable and equal world.
• Skills and education will remain vital tools to empower workers to make meaningful contributions to their economies and societies.

Where India lags

GTCI23 refers to “an increased skills mismatch and a greater difficulty in finding skilled employees have pushed India to 121st in both the ‘Employability’ sub-category and the ‘Vocational and Technical Skills’ category.

The 2023 World Talent Ranking (WTR), published in September, by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) also substantiates India’s falling talent rank. Out of 64 economies, India has slipped four spots to 56th position, compared to its 52nd position in 2022. Though WTR has praised India's talent pool for its agility, tech-savviness, and readiness for the future, underscores the need for further enhancement in talent competitiveness. The report highlights India's weak educational system, ranking it second to last (63rd) in quality. This is attributed to unequal access to education, particularly in rural areas, and insufficient investment.

According to the new Annual Employability Survey 2019 report by Aspiring Minds, there had been no change in the employability prospects of Indian engineering graduates in the past nine years, with only a handful of them possessing next-gen tech skills. While every year India churns out about 15 lakh engineering graduates. The report reveals that 80 per cent of Indian engineers are not fit for any job in the knowledge economy and only 2.5 per cent of them possess tech skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI) that industries require.

Though India has the largest youth population with around 254 million people between the age group of 15 to 24 years, only 46.2 per cent were highly employable, a report by Indian School Finance Company (ISFC) has revealed. This includes 51.44 per cent females and 45.97 per cent males, the report stated. According to the Skill Financing Report 2023, there has been dissatisfaction among employers due to a lack of employability skills in the Indian youth. Around 78 per cent of young people in the country lack practical skills. Furthermore, India ranks 60th globally in terms of overall skills proficiency, reported the 'Financial Express'.

Though the Indian education system needs a massive overhaul, the education budget has remained very low in India. In reality, the allocation for higher education has declined from Rs 55,078 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 50,094 crore in 2023-24. The combined expenditure on education by the Centre and States (as a percentage of GDP), has remained stagnant at 2.9 per cent during 2019-20 to 2022-23.

To retain and grow talents and be competitive in the global market, investment in education should be the top priority in India.

Views expressed are personal