“Lithuania is a country of talented people. They are the ones who make our country’s name known all over the world with their linguistic skills, financial competences and good management experience. This is the strength of Lithuanian business and an opportunity to remain competitive,” says Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
According to Jonė Kalendienė, Head of Research and Analysis at Innovation Agency Lithuania, the strongest area of talent competitiveness can be considered to be investment in talent, which in 2023 was determined by the war in Ukraine, leading to a rapid growth of both the workforce and the share of women in it in our country.
“The assessments of other aspects, such as funding for education or health services, are not rising. This suggests that changes in education and healthcare policies could make a significant contribution to talent development and increased competitiveness of Lithuania,” notes Ms. Kalendienė.
According to a survey of Lithuanian business leaders organised at the time of the talent ranking, Lithuanian employers are increasingly underestimating both secondary and higher education, compared to other countries. The assessment of managerial competences of Lithuanian employees is also weaker. However, financial competences, competences of senior managers and linguistic skills are regarded more favourably. Overall, the competences of Lithuanian workforce are seen as improving (up 10 positions), while globally they remain average (37th out of 64).
It is worth noting the IMD researchers’ observation that post-pandemic teleworking and hybrid working patterns are much more attractive and beneficial than detrimental in countries with a more skilled workforce and higher female participation in the labour market. Lithuania shares both of these aspects.
According to Ms. Kalendienė, the attractiveness of Lithuania’s workforce has been growing most rapidly. “In this aspect, the country has risen from the 35th to the 27th place in 5 years. With the decline in emigration of skilled workforce, which was the weakest point of the country, maintaining a good balance between quality of life and cost of living, and implementing appealing talent attraction and retention programmes not only at the national level, but also at the company level, we can see that we are not only maintaining a high level of motivation of our employees, but also attracting skilled workforce from other countries,” comments Ms. Kalendienė.
According to her, although the more moderate economic growth in 2023 has eased labour market tensions in Lithuania, the return to normal economic growth rates will put the issue of workers, especially highly skilled workers, back on the agenda. “Therefore, talent development, attraction and retention policies are very important not only for attracting foreign investors, but, first of all, for helping maintain the international competitiveness of the businesses of our country,” notes Ms. Kalendienė.
In 2023, Lithuania has one of the highest positions among the Baltic countries in the World Talent Ranking and is maintaining its growth, rising by 3 positions to the 23rd place within a year. Only Estonia is ranked higher than Lithuania in the Baltic region – it has not changed its position in 2023 and remained in the 17th place. Neighbouring Latvia dropped 12 positions down to the 39th place, while Poland climbed 6 positions up to the 44th out of 64 countries.
About the IMD Talent Ranking:
The IMD World Talent Report, developed by the Swiss International Institute for Management Development (IMD) since 2014, serves to assess how 64 countries surveyed are developing, attracting and retaining highly skilled professionals. In 2023, Switzerland is ranked first, followed by Luxembourg and Iceland.
