South Africa is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to developing, drawing and retaining a skilled work force – underpinned by a poor education system and low worker motivation.<\/p>\n
This is according to the IMD World Competitiveness Center’s World Talent Report for 2015, which looks at a country’s ability to develop, attract and retain talented individuals.<\/p>\n
The ranking is structured according to three factors: investment and development, appeal and readiness.<\/p>\n
The first factor takes into account the investment in and development of home-grown talent, while appeal goes beyond the focus on the local labor force to incorporate the ability of a country to tap into the overseas talent pool.<\/p>\n
The readiness factor looks at the context of the talent pool, considering the growth of the labor force and the quality of the skills available, the group said.<\/p>\n
The 2015 ranking is led by Switzerland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway and the Netherlands, with Finland, Germany, Canada, Belgium and Singapore completing the top 10.<\/p>\n
Overall, South Africa ranked 51st out of the 61 countries analysed, with a low investment and development score as well as a low level of readiness (55 and 54 out of 61, respectievly).<\/p>\n
The only category in which South Africa came out as “okay” (34 out of 61) was in Appeal, where the cost of living and quality of life – as well as remuneration, and personal rights – made the country appealing to global talent.<\/p>\n
South Africa’s ranking on the index has climbed five places from 2014, but remains far away from its best placement of 43rd in 2006.<\/p>\n
According to the report, there are five criteria which South Africa performed the best in –\u00a0however, the flip-side shows that, despite those good points, the country still struggles with many others.<\/p>\n
Worryingly, South Africa was ranked 3rd for its public expenditure on education (at 7% of total GDP), but ranked 58th for its education system, and its degree of emphasis on science in schools.<\/p>\n
This shows that South Africa maintains one of the worst education systems in the world, despite billions of rands being pumped into the sector.<\/p>\n
To put this into perspective, Denmark and Iceland are the only two countries to spend more on education – and both those countries run education systems in the upper reaches of the ranking (8th and 14th, respectively).<\/p>\n
Big shock in number of skilled jobs in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Shortage of skilled workers in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s critical skills shortage<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n