What America Can Learn from Europe About Attracting Top Talent?

Not that surprisingly, there are 9 European nations in the top 10 list of countries that are the best at developing, attracting, and retaining top-talent, a new IMD Business School study found. The United States, home to six of the top ten universities preparing workplace-ready graduates, did not make the list.

They report examined 63 nations using results from surveys with over 6,000 company executives as well as economic data. This is the 5th year in a row that Switzerland and Denmark have ranked number one and two. Norway and Finland also performed strongly.

The United States came in at number 12. (The United States had made the top 10 only once when it ranked number nine in 2014.)

It did rank 2nd to Switzerland in the appeal to international employees. However, the United States scored very poorly on investment in the education system, knowledge-transfer programs, developing local talent, and specialized skills. The United States could invest in initiatives like tuition-free college education (as is the case in most European countries) to support both international and local talent further.

The United States might perform better in the future because companies will soon focus on prospective employees that excel at innovation and creativity rather than technical skills. What’s more, proposed changes to the US H1-B visa might make it easier for advanced-degree holders to work in the country.

Top 20 most talent-competitive economies in the World for 2018

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

Infographic top 20 most talent-competitive economies in the World for 2018: