Infographic: Middle East and North Africa Talent Competitiveness Index Put together by INSEAD Business School, Google and the Center for Economic Growth, the report ranks countries on readiness to take advantage of technological change: resulting in UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain ranked as the most well positioned, with Kuwait and Jordan as mixed readiness.

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How can MENA countries really attract, cultivate and retain talent? This infographic highlighting this year's findings from the Middle East and North Africa Talent Competitiveness Index (MTCI) report by INSEAD Business School, Google and the Center for Economic Growth aims to find out. The study examines the current state of employment and private sector development in MENA, and ranks countries in the region based on its capability to find and foster talent. Noting its findings on entrepreneurship, the MTCI report found that though there's been an increase of resources for entrepreneurs such as incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, bootcamps and VC entities, scalability is still a challenge as there's still a lack of streamlined legislative and regulatory frameworks to enable the development of tech startups, and other high-growth sectors.

As technology transforms the way we work, either by automation, digitization or connectedness, the report questions how ready MENA countries are, and if they are seizing the opportunity. The report ranks countries on readiness to take advantage of technological change: resulting in UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain ranked as the most well positioned, with Kuwait and Jordan as mixed readiness. While on the lower end, Oman, Lebanon and Tunisia rank as less well positioned, and Egypt, Morocco and Algeria rank with low readiness. The study also points out the implications of essential policy improvements.

To improve a country's ranking for talent and competitiveness on a global and regional scale, the MTCI study recommends investing in education and digital skills, as well as seizing digital transformation, supporting SMEs, and offering affordable and high-quality access to Internet. If you're interested to learn more, head on to the INSEAD website to download the full report.

Middle East and North Africa Talent Competitiveness Index (MTCI) report
Source: INSEAD, Google and Center for Economic Growth

Related: Five Recruitment Trends We Expect To See In 2017

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