By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES jumped nine spots in an annual rating of nations’ ability to draw and retain talent, in line with a report by business school Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) and the Portulans Institute.
Within the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2025, the Philippines ranked 75th out of 135 economies, improving from 84th in 2023. It had an overall rating of 42.39 out of a possible 100.
This was the country’s best rating since 2021 when it was at 70th place.
The index looks at how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent.
“These developments highlight the Philippines’ ongoing efforts to strengthen managerial capability, enhance workforce adaptability, and foster an innovation-driven, digitally connected talent landscape,” the report read.
The Philippines ranked eighth amongst its peers within the East and Southeast Asian region.
Singapore ranked first overall with a rating of 73.29, followed by Japan (28th), South Korea (31st), Brunei (43rd), Malaysia (46th), China (53rd) and Mongolia (65th).
The Philippines was also the highest performer amongst lower middle-income economies, outpacing regional peers akin to Vietnam (76th), Thailand (77th) and Indonesia (80th).
“Amongst lower middle-income economies, Lebanon, the Philippines, and India stand out for his or her growing emphasis on transferable and future-oriented skills,” the report said.
SOFT SKILLS
Also, the Philippines was surprisingly the one lower middle-income economy within the soft skills top 10, which was dominated by high-income economies led by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland.
The report said this underscores that “human-centric capabilities — akin to communication, teamwork, and flexibility — are increasingly vital drivers of talent competitiveness across all income groups.”
The Philippines ranked 50th within the “Grow” pillar, supported by strong outcomes in lifelong learning (27th), worker development (27th) and high digital engagement, including the 20th ranked use of virtual social networks amongst professionals.
Market competitiveness also improved, with the Philippines placing 35th within the extent of market dominance and 54th in sustainability.
The Philippine labor market continues to indicate strong private sector management practices — 12th in skilled management, 19th in cluster development and 22nd in ease of finding expert employees.
“Economies that align education, labor and innovation systems towards adaptive talent development can achieve high performance even with modest income levels,” said Paul Evans, emeritus professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and co-editor of the report.
Rafael Escalona Reynoso, chief executive officer of Portulans Institute, said probably the most crucial skills today are adaptive ones: “the flexibility to collaborate, think across disciplines, innovate under pressure and navigate fast-moving, tech-driven environments.”
“These are the abilities that increasingly define a rustic’s competitiveness — and the GTCI now captures this reality more clearly than ever,” he added.
Nevertheless, the report noted persistent weaknesses within the Philippines’ ability to draw foreign talent. The Philippines ranked 88th within the “Attract” pillar, dragged down by low external openness metrics akin to migrant stock (135th).
Governance and regulatory indicators also pulled down scores within the “Enable” pillar, where the Philippines placed 77th, reflecting gaps within the rule of law, corruption control and political stability.
Despite these challenges, the GTCI findings suggested the Philippines is developing the fitting capabilities to support higher-value industries.
The country scored above its income-group average in overall GTCI performance — 42.39 versus 33.64 — and demonstrated strong upward mobility relative to peers.
The outcomes come because the Marcos administration pushes reforms in education, skills training and digitalization to strengthen the workforce and attract investment.
The report’s emphasis on adaptability and lifelong learning aligned with efforts to reskill Filipino staff for artificial intelligence- and technology-intensive sectors.
Singapore, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden led the index as top performers. The five lowest-ranking countries were all in Africa — Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad.
On the Philippines’ low rating in attracting foreign talent, University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations Assistant Professor Benjamin B. Velasco said labor migration continues to empty the Philippines of expert staff, whilst the country’s strong English proficiency helps drive its rise in global talent competitiveness.
“It’s an excellent thing that the Philippines is rising in talent competitiveness. Despite evident deficits in basic education, our English proficiency drives talent competitiveness given the fact of worldwide supply chains in services,” he said via Facebook Messenger.
To sustain and expand this progress, he said the federal government must fix basic education gaps, significantly increase higher-education spending to six% of gross domestic product and rationalize vocational-technical training.
He also urged the complete implementation of the Labor Education Act to embed staff’ rights and profession guidance into higher education and technical-vocational curricula.
Federation of Free Staff President Jose Sonny G. Matula said the Philippines’ rise within the index is a shiny spot amid concerns over corruption and substandard infrastructure projects.
The development showed the country’s strength in developing lifelong learning, digital skills and skilled management, he added.
“This can also be a reminder to government and business: rankings usually are not enough — people must feel it of their wages, job security, and quality of education,” he said via Viber, noting the importance of constructing awareness of decent work through education.
While Filipino talent is globally competitive, Mr. Matula said the larger challenge is ensuring staff aren’t compelled to migrate or endure precarious employment to make ends meet.