Talent lacking competitiveness and growth

This should sound too harsh for a country that often quotes human capital abundance as its greatest advantage to the world. But taking a glance at the Global Talent Competitiveness Index for 2018 suggests that Pakistan fares no better than the African countries.

Before delving into the details of where the country stands on the scale, let’s look at what the index measures. The annual benchmarking report measures and ranks countries and cities based on their ability to grow, attract and retain talent – basically measuring a country’s ability to compete for talent. The index has six components - Enable, Attract, Grow, Retain, Vocational & Technical Skills, Global Knowledge Skills – that are further broken down into subcategories.

Staying competitive requires upgrading skills and adaptive talent strategies – both of which have been on a backburner for the decision makers in the respective field in the country. Pakistan ranks 109 out of 119 countries with an overall score of 26.94 percent. Its position among its peers in the region is relatively comparable with similar issues. However, India has improved in overall rankings by 11 places. The illustration shows a historical comparison of the country’s relative performance on overall GTCI and along all subcategories. While 2018 scorecard shows that the country has performed abysmally along all indictors, the historical trend shows that the progress has dwindled; Pakistan’s overall GTCI score has come down from 31.8 percent in 2013 to 26.94 percent in 2018.

What does the score mean, and what is responsible for it? A weaker score for Pakistan means a weaker enabling environment in the country, which entails the regulatory, business and market landscape; weaker external openness like attracting migrant stock and weaker internal openness including tolerance; low formal secondary and tertiary education and enrollment rates; and weaker social protection and lifestyle sustainability. Issues like brain gain, scarcity of mid and higher level skills and talents, weak focus on ICT and innovation, and fewer opportunities for women and technology transfer are some key areas that need attention to nurture the incoming and outgoing talent.

What could Pakistan and other countries in the lower-middle income group learn from the champions of global talent? A flexible regulatory and business landscape; educational system built on employability; internal and external openness for diversity; and employment policies based on flexibility and social protection are come commonalities of those that stand high on the rankings.

When with a dearth of public data on the country’s relative performance on key social and economic indicators, the findings of such studies and other global indices offer some sound, relative information needed for policy making. This specific study can help decision makers develop talent strategies, overcome talent mismatches and find out ways to become more competitive in the global marketplace. Unfortunately, to many lagging behind in a global index or ranking is not a big deal; it is taken as just another report by the multilateral organisations and global research institutes used largely for presentations and demonstrations of the problems at hand with the recommendations sector conveniently overlooked and forgotten.