idealpeople blog

According to the Global Talent Index, a collaborative effort courtesy of the Economist Intelligence Unit and the much admired Global Executive Search Business H&S (Heidrick and Struggles) the UK will be number two talent hotspot in the world, gaining rapidly on the US for the coveted number one position by 2012.

What’s the GTI?
The study measured the demographics, quality of compulsory education (link here), universities and business schools, mobility, labour market conditions and trends in foreign direct investment of 30 countries. Some people think that future GTI surveys will greatly influence the forward strategic planning and location-orientation of businesses in the global economy.

Why is the GTI Important?
It’s especially important for Technology-Oriented businesses, who face an even greater challenge ahead than most in the shadow of a greater than ever demand for qualified and experienced IT professionals, and the pronounced staff shortages in niche areas.

This Survey Says….

The Dateline 2012 Talent Index top 10 looks like this

· USA
· UK (Up a considerable two places in the Talent index from it’s 2007 position)
· Canada
· Netherlands
· Sweden
· China (Another top ten ‘riser’ - gaining two positions)
· Germany
· Australia
· France
· India

In principle, this is great news for technology businesses and technology professionals in the UK. It means that - at the very least - the UK is set up to be a hot-bed of technological innovation - meaning that enterprises find themselves in the perfect place for growth - and that technology professionals have a potentially huge number of opportunities. The future, it seems, looks rosy.

However, quite how this will play out in reality is still something of a mystery, given that - contrary to popular opinion - it’s actually very, very difficult for talented people from outside of the EU to enter the country. If the UK is going to become a genuine hot-bed of technology talent, we need to ensure that we are attracting talent to those shores. The current immigration system only serves to put people off. We need a sensibly arranged policy for global talent to enter the country, not hindered by ill-advised, over-zealous or even xenophobic policies around entry criteria, and through a complete and current understanding of the specific skill-shortage areas in the technology industry.

The UK faces tough challenges to satisfy global ambitions and must deliver, and continually seek to improve a fertile ecosystem for educating, nuturing and developing talent.

The UK needs to embrace globalisation not be afraid of it.