MALAYSIA CLIMBS NINE SPOTS IN HUMAN CAPITAL REPORT RANKING
Globally, nation climbs nine spots to 33rd among 130 countries, according to World Economic Forum report
MALAYSIA has climbed nine spots to 33rd in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) list of top nations when it comes to developing human capital this year.
Regionally, Malaysia came in second in Southeast Asia.
In its 2017 Human Capital Report, the WEF ranks 130 countries on how well they developed their human capital on a scale from zero (worst) to 100 (best) across four thematic dimensions and five distinct age groups to capture the full human capital potential profile of a country.
WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab said the Fourth Industrial Revolution would not just disrupt employment, it created a shortfall of newly-required skills.
“We are facing a global talent crisis. We need a new mind-set and a true revolution to adapt our educational systems to the education needed for the future work force,” said Schwab in a statement.
WEF head of education, gender and work Saadia Zahidi said countries’ strategies for developing human capital should vary according to their demographic structure.
“However, every country risks creating lost generations if they fail to adopt a holistic approach to nurturing talent that takes into account proactive approaches to managing the transition from education to employment, as well as ongoing learning and skills acquisition,” she added.
Of the 10 Southeast Asian countries included in the report’s Human Capital Index, Singapore (11th globally) came out top, followed by Malaysia (33rd) and Thailand (40th). The Philippines (50th) and Brunei (58th) rounded up the top five.
Globally, the top 10 of this year’s list is led by smaller European countries. Norway topped the list, followed by Finland, Switzerland, as well as large economies such as the United States (4th) and Germany (6th).
Four countries from the East Asia and Pacific region (New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and Australia), three countries from the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region (Slovenia, Estonia and Russia), and one country from the Middle East and North Africa region (Israel at 18th) are also ranked in the top 20.
The report also found that on average, the world has developed only 62 per cent of its human capital. Across the index, only 25 nations have tapped 70 per cent of their people’s human capital or more. Fifty countries scored between 60 and 70 per cent.
A further 41 countries scored between 50 and 60 per cent, while 14 countries remained below 50 per cent.