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OAS Co-Presents Report “Global Talent 2021 – The New Geography of Talent: the Case of Mexico”

The Organization of American States (OAS), along with the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), in collaboration with the Federal Government of Mexico, and the Center for Private Sector Economic Studies (CEESP), presented the study "Global Talent 2021 - The New Geography of Talent", Thursday, September 20, in Mexico City.

Jorge Saggiante, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for Integral Development of the OAS, said that "we as an organization have the commitment that the results of this kind of studies and dialogues are brought to the highest level of the political forums, where authorities involved in areas of education, competitiveness, science and technology and the work area participate.”

Secretary Saggiante said the next event "we will hold and where we will share these results will be the Sixth Americas Competitiveness Forum, "Innovation for Prosperity” to be held from October 24 to 26 in Cali, Colombia." In this regard, he added that "the effect of this effort is much broader and we hope it can offer better inputs for decision-making and the formulation of effective public policies."

The report, developed by Oxford Economics (OE), aims to raise awareness of the role of human capital as an engine of sustainable development, provide information and analysis to strengthen the design, implementation, and quality of public policies on issues of competitiveness, education, investment, technology and labor.

Otto Granados, Director of the Institute of Public Administration of Monterrey Institute of Technology, said, "one of findings of the study is that emerging countries, like ours, are forming an important asset of talent that can produce a surplus and be attracted to economies like ours if we give priority to progress and innovation, or by other developed countries that need to import talent."

"The report is an essential tool for the design, development and implementation of public policies, private and academic policies," added Director Granados.

For his part, Jose Antonio Torre Medina, Undersecretary for Competitiveness and Regulation of the Economy Secretariat of Mexico, said, "the impact of the geography of the talent goes far beyond human resources strategies," it includes "country strategies and the global strategies of the companies," he added.

The study also highlighted the importance of private strategies in matters of human resources and investment, as well as progress in the analysis and discussion of the topic that allows providing input at the forums on specialized dialogues that take place within the framework of the OAS.

The report was based on a survey of 352 large companies in 46 countries, on their staffing needs, and a model of economic information at the level of 21 economic branches.

Adrian Cooper, CEO of Oxford Economics, said that "by 2021 the majority of talent with higher education will be in emerging markets. The remarkable thing is that countries like Mexico and Brazil will have more highly educated talent than countries like Canada, France, Germany and the UK". "This represents a great opportunity for these countries (Mexico and Brazil) to drive further growth in the long term, "he added.

Cooper said that "all governments should undertake skill assessments and make projections for key growth sectors, so as to guide the policy of talents. Similarly, companies should consider examining the staff to identify gaps and training needs, and workers should be encouraged to actively embrace lifelong learning."

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-328/12