According to the World Talent Ranking index, compiled by a Swiss business school, Estonia has jumped from the 27th place in the previous ranking to 19th in the 2020 report.
The World Talent Ranking, compiled by the International Institute for Management Development, a business education school located in Lausanne, Switzerland, scores countries across three factors – investment and development, readiness and appeal.
According to the report, the index addresses the questions of how different economies invest and develop their local talent; how do countries appeal to the international talent pool as well as retaining their own high-skilled work force; and how do economies measure the quality of the skills and competences that are available.
According to this year’s index, Estonia has landed to the 19th spot, up from the previous 27th. The biggest leap for the country was in investing into the local talent – from the 21st to the 10th spot. In the country’s attractiveness for foreign specialists, Estonia jumped from the 23rd place to the 19th.
The World Talent Ranking index 2020 is topped by Switzerland, followed by Denmark and Luxembourg. Finland is ranked 12th, Lithuania 27th, Latvia 33rd and Russia 54th.
Estonia is competing with other countries for the best talents
According to Anneli Aab, the leader of the Work in Estonia programme at Enterprise Estonia, Estonia is lacking over 8,000 IT specialists and only by re-educating people, this gap can’t be filled. “Companies need qualified workers to grow and if they can’t find qualified specialists in the country, it’s possible to alleviate the problem by bringing in foreign workers or simplifying international remote working,” she said in a statement.
“The talent rally is global and Estonia is competing with all the Western countries to find the best talents. We’re ahead of the Balti states, but we’re far from the top,” she added.
Aab also pointed out that the 2021 report shows that the Estonian companies have grown their investments into people. “Trainings and developmental activities have been regarded as more important than in the previous years,” she asserted.
The International Institute for Management Development, the business education school that compiled the report, specialises in executive education offering open enrolment programmes for senior executives, as well as longer-term educational engagements that are customised for senior executives of a particular company. It is well known for its master’s programme that is taught in English and consistently ranked among the best in the world.
Cover: A group of students at Estonian Business School. The image is illustrative. Photo by Estonian Business School.
