Here’s another reason to increase investments in human development: the Philippines has slipped further, nearly hitting bottom, in this year’s World Talent Ranking.
The WTR, drawn up by the Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Center, ranked the country 64th out of 67 economies included in the study. It was the worst showing for the Philippines in 20 years.
Three factors are considered in the rankings. One is appeal, or the ability of the economy to attract foreign talent and retain local workers. Another is the level of investment and development of resources to improve the local workforce. The third is readiness or quality of the skills of the local talent pool.
The Philippines fell in all three factors – slipping two notches in appeal as well as investment and development, and six places in terms of workforce readiness.
Tracking economic and human development indicators in the Asia-Pacific, the Philippines also ranked a dismaying 13th out of the 14 economies in the region, ahead only of Mongolia.
European economies led the global index in talent competitiveness, with Switzerland topping the list followed by Luxembourg and Iceland. Hong Kong followed, ahead of the other Asia-Pacific economies.
Among the other economies in the region, Singapore placed seventh globally, followed by Taiwan (17th), Australia (19th), Malaysia (25th), New Zealand (33rd), South Korea (37th), China (38th), Japan (40th), Thailand (43rd), Indonesia (53rd) and India (63rd).
The Philippines is one of the top exporters of workers – people who find it necessary to search for meaningful jobs overseas because of the lack of opportunities in their own land. This exodus has also led to an increasing shortage of the skilled workers needed in many industries and economic sectors including agriculture.
World Competitiveness Center director Arturo Bris said the main driver of the fall in the Philippines’ talent ranking is the declining quality of life. Other analysts cited the chronic underinvestment in education and weak training systems.
Filipinos are aware of the deterioration in the quality of education and consequently national competitiveness. The World Talent Ranking is just the latest reminder of the urgency of addressing the problems.