Countries were ranked by the skills of their workforce, their investment in training and their appeal to foreign talent. Getty Images
Countries were ranked by the skills of their workforce, their investment in training and their appeal to foreign talent. Getty Images
Countries were ranked by the skills of their workforce, their investment in training and their appeal to foreign talent. Getty Images
Countries were ranked by the skills of their workforce, their investment in training and their appeal to foreign talent. Getty Images

World Talent Ranking: UAE climbs six places but Brexit impairs UK score


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE has risen six places in the World Talent Ranking, which measures countries' ability to train and recruit top professionals.

It moved from 30th to 24th in one of the biggest improvements in the 2020 table.

When measured by the skills of its workforce, the UAE came third out of 63 countries.

This was one of the three main categories in the rankings, along with investment in talent and appeal to overseas recruits.

Authors of the report by the IMD World Competitiveness Centre said the UAE “performs strongly in various indicators including graduates in sciences, availability of skilled labour, availability of senior managers with significant international experience, availability of competent senior managers and inbound student mobility”.

Meanwhile, Brexit was blamed for a decline in the UK's position in the table.

Researchers said uncertainties over Brexit appeared to have damaged the UK's competitiveness after it came 23rd in the table, down seven places from 2016 when it voted to leave the EU.

“In 2016, the year of the Brexit vote, the UK was in 16th position in the same ranking,” they said.

"This year's 23rd position is a likely reflection that uncertainties around Brexit have been chipping away at the UK's talent competitiveness."

Switzerland topped the global table after winning high marks for its education system and quality of life.

Denmark was second overall and came first in rankings of motivation, fairness and employee training.

European countries took eight of the top 10 places, with Canada and Singapore landing the other two.

The UK came 17th in the talent pool ranking, 20th in international appeal and 38th in development in its workforce.

Among other major economies, the United States came 15th in the table, Japan 38th and China 40th.

Authors said that countries should continue to seek overseas talent rather than turn inwards to revive their economies after the Covid-19 pandemic.

They said that keeping workforces motivated in the age of social distancing and working from home was important to the overall strength of an economy.

“Talent competitiveness may be a fundamental component for economic recovery in a post-Covid era,” they said.

The World Economic Forum cited the report’s findings on Monday on the eve of a Jobs Reset Summit aimed at plotting a recovery from the pandemic.

More than 250 million full-time jobs were lost in 2020 along with $3.7 trillion in wages, the WEF said. The loss of jobs was four times greater than during the financial crisis of 2008-09.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm

Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm

Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm

While you're here
Brief scoreline:

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The specs
 
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The Byblos iftar in numbers

29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month

50 staff members required to prepare an iftar

200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly

160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total

500 litres of soup is served during the holy month

200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes

350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes

5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
 

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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