Canada ranked one of the best countries in the world for developing talent

As tech companies like Apple, Uber, Shopify, and Hootsuite continue to set up offices in Canada, it comes as no surprise that our country is recognized as one of the top places in the world for developing talent.

According to the sixth annual World Talent Ranking report published by IMD Business School, Canada is ranked as one of the top 20 countries in the world for fostering and attracting talent.

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Switzerland once again clinched the top spot in the global survey, followed by Denmark, Sweeden, Austria, and Luxembourg, respectively.

Canada, which ranked in 13h place this year, follows right behind the US and was followed by Belgium, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand.

Since the report’s first publication in 2014, the Talent Ranking evaluates the extent to which economies develop, attract, and retain highly-skilled professionals in 63 economies, according to Arturo Bris, director of IMD World Competitiveness Centre.

To assess the 63 economies studied, the IMD World Talent Ranking evaluates three factors: investment and development, appeal, and readiness.

“Fostering a skilled and educated workforce strengthens competitiveness and enables long-term prosperity, particularly in a dynamic landscape where AI, robotics, and other new technologies are redefining current and future challenges for business, policymakers, and educational institutions,” said Bris.

It’s important to note that in 2019, Canada actually experienced one of the largest declines, after dropping seven places to 13th.

According to the report, while Canada dropped in all talent factors, the largest decline was in ‘readiness.’

“This decline is mainly due to steep decrease in total public expenditure on education (36th) and to a negative turn in executive perceptions about the prioritization of employee training (22nd) and implementation of apprenticeships (15th),” reads the report.

“In Appeal, perceptions also shift, for example, the prioritization of attracting and retaining talents declines to the 24th position, worker motivation goes down to 21st and brain drain to 22nd. Under Readiness, the largest drops are in the availability of senior managers with international experience (40th) and the effectiveness of university education (16th).”

In 2019, Canada received a score of 26 for investment and development, five for appeal, and 15 for readiness.

World Talent Ranking Top 20

1. Switzerland
2. Denmark
3. Sweden
4. Austria
5. Luxembourg
6. Norway
7. Iceland
8. Finland
9. Netherlands
10. Singapore
11. Germany
12. USA
13. Canada
14. Belgium
15. Hong Kong
16. Australia
17. New Zealand
18. Ireland
19. Israel
20. Taiwan

The full 2019 report can be found here.