Middle East losing global battle for talent - survey

Dubai: The Middle East is losing out in the global battle to produce and attract the world's most talented workers, according to a new index of global talent.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran rank in the bottom five of the Global Talent Index, a 30-country survey conducted jointly by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles and the Econ-omist Intelligence Unit.

Worryingly for the region, the Middle East countries surveyed are not expected to make big improvements in their ranking over the next five years.

"The Middle East is losing out in the battle for talent and a strategic approach is required to ensure the region develops, attracts and retains the best people to maintain progress," said Ayman Haddad, managing partner for the MENA region at Heidrick & Struggles.

Assessment

Each country was assessed on factors including demographics, quality of compulsory education, quality of universities and business schools and quality of the environment to nurture talent. Mobility and relative openness of the labour market, trends in foreign direct investment, and propensity to attract talent were assessed.

Although the UAE is not included in the study, the country would rank some way above Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Haddad told Gulf News in a telephone interview. While he expects it to attract and retain talent in the short to medium term, especially in sectors such as finance and real estate, he revealed concerns over its ability to improve education to nurture future Emirati talent, as well as compete in a more open regional labour market.

"The UAE is conscious of its need to build and sustain a future local talent base to ensure sustainability should any economic dip occur, but so far I haven't seen clear signs of this," he said. "Employers also have an obligation to nurture talent from higher education and push them into specific corporate sectors."

Haddad said the UAE's ability to attract talented expatriates is helped by a current lack of regional alternatives. But if Saudi Arabia opens up its labour markets, the UAE could face much stiffer competition, he said.

In Kuwait, real estate and property professionals are earning 10 per cent more than their counterparts in the rest of the Middle East, a report by recruitment consultants Macdonald & Company revealed.

The stream of talented Indians into the UAE could also be affected by far greater professional opportunities in India, a situation not helped by the UAE's mounting living costs. India ranks tenth in the Global Talent Index.

While the UAE is facing many challenges, Haddad did not go so far as anticipating a brain drain.

According to the index, the US will retain its position as the world's biggest talent hotspot in 2012. But it is facing increasing pressure from China, expected to move to sixth position in the next five years.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia will both move up one place over the next five years in the overall rankings, the report suggests.