Norway No. 3 in attracting job talent

Image: Pxhere

Gerard Taylor
Norway Today

Neither the United States nor the United Kingdom reached the top 10 of the world’s most attractive countries for new job talent, CNBC.com reported.

A survey conducted by IMD Business School in Switzerland placed Switzerland on top for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Denmark, Norway, Austria, and the Netherlands. The reason is that Switzerland has invested heavily in education and training, as well as attracting international workers, the survey pointed out.

Canada is the only non-European country among the top 10, in sixth place. Then follow Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Germany.

The United States ranked 12th place, Australia 14th, and the United Kingdom at 23rd in the IMD’s overview of 63 countries’ ability to develop, attract, and retain talent.

Singapore, listed at 13th, is the top Asian country, in front of Hong Kong in 18th place.

The survey measures a country’s companies on three factors: investment and development in the national education system; the country’s attractiveness for foreign workers, including quality of life, taxes, and living costs; and its ability to create new job opportunities and training of employees.

“Consistently you see that European countries dominate. The best countries benefit from a history of good education systems and ability to develop employees,” said Arturo Bris, Head of IMD World Competitiveness Center for CNBC.

The United States, which in another IMD study was ranked as the most competitive country in the world, loses in the competition for job talent due to weaker investment in education and weaker education systems.

This article was originally published on Norway Today.

This article originally appeared in the November 30, 2018, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.