Ireland has been ranked behind countries such as Britain, the US, Denmark and Luxembourg in terms of labour competitiveness in a new global study of labour market flexibility.
While Ireland was ranked 10th in a survey of more than 90 countries, due to the openness of its economy Ireland’s lack of investment in apprenticeships and other forms of “on-the-job” training was identified as a barrier to labour flexibility.
The Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2014, published ahead of the World Economic Forum which opens in Davos today, surveyed the labour market patterns of 93 countries.
The research, by business school INSEAD and recruitment group Adecco, found Ireland performed strongly in attracting international talent, but failed to nurture young “home-grown” talent.
Indigenous talent
The report also highlighted the need for more government investment in second-level education. “Economic openness and investment in further education means that Ireland attracts highly skilled workers from abroad, particularly into its prosperous IT and technology sector,” said
Peter Searle
, chief executive of Adecco UK and Ireland. “However, a particular challenge for Ireland is investing in home-grown talent at a young age.” Businesses should invest in apprenticeships and other forms of “learning on the job” to give young people employable skills.
Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg – three countries seen as rivals to Ireland for foreign direct investment – were ranked as the top three in the global competitiveness index.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny travels to the Swiss ski resort this week to meet with key business and political leaders to incentivise investment into Ireland. Ireland’s inward investment agency, the IDA, is holding meetings with prospective client companies on the forum’s sidelines.
The need for western countries to “reconsider traditional learning” was a central finding of the Adecco/INSEAD report, which identified a significant “talent mismatch” in the European and US labour market.
Noting 33 million are searching for a job in the EU and US, while more than eight million positions are vacant, the report says “talent development in the 21st century must go beyond traditional formal education and develop vocational skills”.
Swiss model
Paul Evans
, a professor at INSEAD, and co-author of the report, highlighted the emphasis on vocational training in the Swiss education system, pointing out half its government came through the vocational stream. “It’s not just higher education that is important today – vocational learning needs to be integrated into secondary education. In Switzerland, thinking about becoming employable starts at an early age.”
He said over 70 per cent of Swiss school children at 15 select what is known as an “apprenticeship track”, which combines practical work experience with traditional theoretical learning.
