Taiwan ranks fourth in Asia and 27th among 63 economies globally in ability to attract, develop and retain talent, according to a report released Nov. 19 by Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
 
Scoring 68.28 out of 100, Taiwan fell by 0.19 points and four places from the previous survey. The nation finished ahead of regional neighbors Japan and South Korea in 29th and 33th, respectively, but trailed Singapore, 13th; Hong Kong, 18th; and Malaysia, 22nd. Switzerland, Denmark and Norway topped the ranking, in that order.
 
The fifth edition of the annual report assessed each economy based on 30 indicators grouped into three factors: appeal, investment and development, and readiness. Appeal evaluates the extent to which a country attracts foreign talent and retains local professionals; investment and development measures resources committed to nurturing homegrown human capital; and readiness quantifies domestic skills and competencies.
 
In these main criteria, Taiwan ranked 32nd, 25th and 27th, respectively. Among the 30 indicators, the nation finished in the top 10 globally for educational assessment and effective personal income tax rate, and the top 20 for health infrastructure, science in schools and proportion of international tertiary students.
 
Areas requiring further improvement include brain drain, cost-of-living index and foreign highly skilled personnel.
 
In response to the report, the Cabinet-level National Development Council said that the government is designing and implementing policies to boost the attraction and retention of top-class talent. This is evidenced by such measures as the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, which took effect in February, and a draft economic immigration law proposed by the Cabinet in August aimed at addressing labor shortages in the industrial and social care sectors, the NDC added.
 
According to the council, going forward these initiatives will help establish a comprehensive talent cultivation and retention ecosystem. (KWS-E)