Czechia one of world’s top 25 countries for attracting professional talent
Out of all Central and Eastern Europe countries, Czechia ranks highest in a new index showing which countries attract the most highly skilled employees.
According to the 2023 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (CTGI) 2023, Czechia is in the top 25 countries worldwide (out of 134) that attract the best talent from the global workforce.
CTGI bases its index by reviewing a range of industries in each country and then analyzing the background, qualifications, and experience of high-level workers. The index also calculates the number of “C-suite” positions (an organization’s senior executives) in each country.
A stable position in recent years
Czechia ranks 23rd in the 2023 index and is the 17th-strongest country in Europe when it comes to attracting workforce talent. This is a decline of two spots since 2022, but an improvement on the 2021 ranking, when it came 24th. In the first edition of the index – in 2013 – it was ranked 22nd.
The index authors – French non-profit graduate business school INSEAD and the Descartes Institute consultancy – note a clear correlation between a country’s income level and position in the ranking. This, then, implies that Czechia’s strong position in the ranking is down to the fact that it has one of the highest income levels globally.
Switzerland topped the ranking, with Singapore in second place and the U.S. in third. Czechia performed stronger than all of its Slavic and Central and Eastern Europe neighbors.
Czechia increasingly reliant on foreign talent
Czechia is looking increasingly more to foreign, high-skilled workers to bridge the gaps in the country’s labor market. Labor Minister Marian Jurečka announced last summer that Czech companies currently lack around 200,000 workers and need to recruit foreigners.
The establishment of international firms’ offices and warehouses in Czechia – Amazon and software firm SAP being examples – has boosted foreigners’ chances of finding work here in both manual and administrative roles.
Last year the country also announced several work-visa schemes that specifically target qualified and talented workers from third countries, including Taiwan, Indonesia, India, and parts of the Caucasus and Balkans.
