Africa worst at recognising talent

Efforts to fully realise people’s economic potential – in countries at all stages of economic development – are falling short due to ineffective deployment of skills throughout the workforce, development of future skills and adequate promotion of ongoing learning for those already in employment, warns the World Economic Forum (WEF). Its new Human Capital Report 2017 reveals that, with an overall average score of 52.97, Sub Saharan Africa is the lowest-ranked region in the index. Rwanda (71), Ghana (72), Cameroon (73) and Mauritius (74) have developed more than 60% of their human capital. South Africa (87), the region’s second largest economy, comes towards the middle in the region. Nigeria (114) ranks in the lower midfield and Ethiopia (127) is the lowest performer, fourth from the bottom on the index overall. The top ten is led by smaller European countries – Norway (1), Finland (2), Switzerland (3) – as well as large economies such as the US (4) and Germany (6). Four countries from east Asia and the Pacific region, three countries from the eastern Europe and central Asia region, and one country from the Middle East and north Africa region are also in the index top 20. WEF states: “These failures to translate investment in education during the formative years into opportunities for higher-quality work during the working lifetime contribute to income inequality by blocking the two pathways to social inclusion, education and work.” The report measures 130 countries against four key areas of human capital development: Capacity – largely determined by past investment in formal education Deployment – the application and accumulation of skills through work Development – the formal education of the next generation workforce and continued upskilling and reskilling of existing workers Knowhow – the breadth and depth of specialised skills-use at work. According to the report’s Human Capital Index, 62% of human capital has now been developed globally. Only 25 nations have tapped 70% of their people’s human capital or more. With the majority of countries leveraging between 50% and 70% of their human capital, 14 countries remain below 50%. A fundamental tenet of the report is that accumulation of skills does not end at a formal education, and the continuous application and accumulation of skills through work is part of human capital development. All too often, economies already possess the required talent but fail to deploy it, the WEF warns. While much is often made of intergenerational inequalities when it comes to the realisation of human capital, the report finds that every generation faces considerable challenges when it comes to realising individual potential. For example, while younger people are consistently better off than older generations when it comes to the initial investment in their education, their skills are not always deployed effectively and too many employers continue to look for ready-made talent. The problem of underdeployment of skills among the young also affects those coming towards the end of their working life. Meanwhile, few among those currently in employment – across all age groups –are gaining access to higher skilled work and opportunities to enhance knowhow. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution does not just disrupt employment, it creates a shortfall of newly required skills. Therefore, we are facing a global talent crisis. We need a new mindset and a true revolution to adapt our educational systems to the education needed for the future work force,” comments Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman, WEF. Saadia Zahidi, head, education, gender and work, WEF, adds: “Human capital is not a fixed concept – it can be enhanced over time, growing through use and depreciating through lack of use – across people’s lifetimes. “This means we need a more proactive approach to managing the transition from education to employment and to ongoing learning and skills acquisition for today’s workforce. Otherwise, every country risks creating lost generations.”

Africa worst at recognising talent

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