Taiwan was ranked the 23rd best nation that can retain, attract and groom talent, according to an annual report released yesterday by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). The new ranking is four steps from Taiwan’s position last year.
This year Taiwan outperformed Japan (20), South Korea (31) and China (40), but lagged behind Singapore (10), Hong Kong (12) and Malaysia (15), the report showed.
The nation’s overall ranking improved even though various trade groups cited talent shortage as a pressing concern for doing business in Taiwan.
The IMD’s ranking considered three main categories: investment, appeal and readiness, which were derived from sub-factors including education, apprenticeship, employee training, brain-drain, cost of living, language skills and tax rates.
The IMD conducted in-depth surveys with more than 4,000 executives in 61 countries, collecting data related to competitiveness to create the annual ranking.
The report said that Taiwan moved ahead in apprenticeship, employee training and environmental health this year.
The nation also showed improvement in the appeal category, aided by favorable tax and remuneration terms, the report said.
The National Development Council (NDC) attributed the improved ranking to various government efforts to encourage on-the-job training and cooperation between businesses and educational establishments.
The government is also pushing for legal revisions that would allow favorable taxes for companies, in an effort to help retain talent through distribution of dividends and capital increase, the council said.
The legal revision plan came after the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei said early this year that a lack of human resources remains a top concern among its members, because it is not easy to recruit talent, especially individuals who meet world-class standards.
Taiwanese lack initiative and innovation and their English-speaking ability needs to be enhanced, the chamber said.
The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) voiced similar opinions last month, and pressed for the development and retention of talent to ensure that the nation has sufficient qualified labor to sustain economic growth and competitiveness.
Taiwan’s brain-drain ranking remained unchanged at 50 this year as well as its score for readiness at 25, the IMD report said, indicating a continuing talent flight.
The NDC has proposed a “Contact Taiwan” program to help attract talent from around the world.
The ECCT has suggested that the Ministry of Education work with international hotel and tourism academies based in Europe so that the latter can run courses in Taiwan for students, allowing them access to the highest international standards and diplomas.
Taiwan’s long-term economic competitiveness will hinge not only on national champions like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) but also on the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, a US-based scholar has said. At a lecture in Taipei on Tuesday, Jeffrey Ding, assistant professor of political science at the George Washington University and author of "Technology and the Rise of Great Powers," argued that historical experience shows that general-purpose technologies (GPTs) — such as electricity, computers and now AI — shape long-term economic advantages through their diffusion across the broader economy. "What really matters is not who pioneers
In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance, Reuters has learned. Completed early this year and undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, according to two people with knowledge of the project. EUV machines sit at the heart of a technological Cold
TAIWAN VALUE CHAIN: Foxtron is to fully own Luxgen following the transaction and it plans to launch a new electric model, the Foxtron Bria, in Taiwan next year Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said that its board of directors approved the disposal of its electric vehicle (EV) unit, Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) for NT$787.6 million (US$24.98 million). Foxtron, a half-half joint venture between Yulon affiliate Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co (華創車電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), expects to wrap up the deal in the first quarter of next year. Foxtron would fully own Luxgen following the transaction, including five car distributing companies, outlets and all employees. The deal is subject to the approval of the Fair Trade Commission, Foxtron said. “Foxtron will be
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last week recorded an increase in the number of shareholders to the highest in almost eight months, despite its share price falling 3.38 percent from the previous week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data released on Saturday showed. As of Friday, TSMC had 1.88 million shareholders, the most since the week of April 25 and an increase of 31,870 from the previous week, the data showed. The number of shareholders jumped despite a drop of NT$50 (US$1.59), or 3.38 percent, in TSMC’s share price from a week earlier to NT$1,430, as investors took profits from their earlier gains
RSS