Spain ranked 31st in the Global Talent Ranking, covering 63 economies
Spain ranks 31st in the Global Talent Ranking that has just been published by the World Center on Competitiveness (CMC), an assessment of 63 economies based on their ability to develop, attract and retain talent, and that Switzerland leads another year .
The second place goes to Denmark in a list in which the top ten are held by European countries, with the exception of Canada, which is in sixth place; while in the queue are the Latin American countries.
Right in the middle of the ranking appears Spain, the penultimate country in Western Europe, only ahead of Italy (32) and Greece (44).
In Eastern Europe, Estonia (28) and Slovenia (30) occupy positions ahead of Spain.
The Global Talent Ranking is published annually since 2014 and represents an assessment that takes into consideration three main factors: investment and development of a talent pool, the ability of countries to attract and retain foreign and local talent; and preparation, which refers to the skills that are available in the country.
In the first factor, Spain has - as in previous years - its best score, specifically for its health infrastructure, an indicator in which it holds the ninth place in the ranking.
However, Spain falls to the 58th position due to its low score in the indicator related to the training of workers.
Nor is the public spending on education too highly valued, an element in which it ranks 38th.
The attractiveness that the country exerts over foreign talent is the best valued, both for the remuneration of the executives and for the quality of life, which makes it rank 19th in both specific indicators.
"In the attractive factor we see a positive movement, improving from position 32 in 2015 to the current 25," said CMC economist José Caballero, who participated in the development of the ranking.
"For Spain that aspect is very important because it helps to attract talent from abroad and to retain the premises, the quality of life and personal security act as magnets in this case," said the expert.
It is in the preparation factor - the third ranking - in which Spain occupies the lowest position (40) and among the main reasons is the perception that executives have that there is still much to do in terms of financial training and of workers' languages.
According to the research center, which is based in the Swiss city of Lausanne, cultivating an educated and qualified workforce is essential to strengthen the competitiveness of any country and achieve long-term prosperity.
This qualification is essential in the face of the dynamics of the world economy, where artificial intelligence, robotics and other new technologies constantly change the challenges for governments, the private sector and society in general.
The overall ranking results show that the most successful countries are mainly medium-sized European countries, with high levels of investment in education and quality of life.
This logic applies equally to other parts of the world, as evidenced by the results in Asia, where Singapore (13th place), Hong Kong (18th) and Malaysia (22th) have the best performances in creating and attracting talent.
China, the great power of the continent, is in the lower half of the ranking (39) for its difficulties in attracting skilled workers and its comparatively low level of education expenditures.
