The future of Work: Global Competition for Talents

If you ever consider moving abroad for work, this article might interest you.

In the late 1990s, a concept known as the "War for Talent" began to take shape. McKinsey & Company, a prestigious American consultancy, released a study highlighting the increasing difficulty of attracting talent in the U.S. Nearly 20 years later, in 2018, Fortune magazine pointed out that this battle for talent had become a global issue. As a result, we've witnessed a significant number of people moving abroad for work opportunities in the last years.

As a college student in 2018, I dreamed of working abroad; I strongly believed that an international experience would enhance my professional skills (still do it). Many of my fellow Millennials and Gen Z professionals, born in the 1990s-2000s, likely share this view. But what are the factors that drive this global talent competition in a broader view? Let's explore it.

According to Balliester and Elsheiki (2018), demographic changes significantly influence the future of the global labor force. The world population is projected to reach 11.213 billion by 2100. Despite the growing population, many countries are experiencing skill gaps in their workforces and an aging population, necessitating the "import" of talent. These trends are widely recognized, yet many people, myself included, struggle to understand the future of work macro trends. If there are more people in the world, how are we missing talents?

Well, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought major changes in the way we work, increased the risk of unemployment and economic instability, and introduced new challenges such as the need for new technological skills, but the way the world recovers from it is geographically unequal.

Even as a growing number of economies have begun to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns, low- and lower-middle-income countries continue to face elevated unemployment, while high-income countries are generally experiencing tight labour markets. (World Economic Forum, 2023)

As in Foresight studies, a major event such as COVID-19 is called a "black swan", this is when an event is an outlier, with no historical precedent suggesting its likelihood. It has an extreme impact. However, despite its status as an outlier, explanations formulated after the fact often make the event seem understandable and predictable. As the pandemic changed forever the future of work, other events will happen, and scenarios for international migration, constantly try to predict it.

What the image shows is already a reality today, countries in Europe and North America, as well as West Asia, will likely receive more work immigration compared to other regions in the world. According to the World Economic Forum Report from last year, economic, health, and geopolitical trends have led to divergent outcomes for labor markets globally in 2023. While tight labor markets are prevalent in high-income countries, low- and lower-middle-income countries continue to experience higher unemployment rates than before the COVID-19 pandemic. This change in the global landscape can increase the number of work immigrants, as well as labor shortages in high-income countries growing in the last years.

Still, According to Balliesther and Elsheiki (2018), nowadays, talents are viewed as a key driver of economic growth and investment. However, this global competition for talent presents several challenges. Immigration policies, international recruitment, and the need for new legislation to ensure equal work laws across countries are critical. This also impacts social security, housing, benefits, and health, involving the whole society in the process.

I believe that anyone working in international talent mobility recognizes the complexities of navigating diverse socioeconomic and political layers in our daily activities. In my current role, I am constantly studying and searching on how to address these topics with an ethical approach, considering the global landscape. The main goal of this series of articles is to promote the discussion among professionals in this field or those interested in it and create new ways of understanding the future.

As reported by the World Economic Forum (2023), the upcoming years present a unique chance for businesses and policymakers to adopt a vision of the future of work that promotes economic inclusion and opportunity, implement policies that will impact not only the pace of growth but also its direction and helps in building more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economies. This is a kind reminder for all of us that the future is being shaped today and there is always space for growth and improvement. So with that, I end the first article of the series, if you got here, thank you for that and I am eager to chat and discuss with you.

References:

Balliester, T. ; Elsheiki, A. The Future of Work: A Literature Review. International Labour Office, 2018. (Research Department Working Paper, n. 29).

Marginson, S. (2017). Limitations of human capital theory*. Studies in Higher Education, 44(2), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1359823

World Economic Forum (2023) The Future of Jobs Report. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2023.pdf