The Canary Islands is the community with the least capacity to create and retain talent in Spain, according to a report prepared by the Cotec Foundation and the Valencian Institute of Economic Research, which places Madrid, the Basque Country, Navarra, Catalonia and Aragon at the top.
The report, relating to 2022, analyzes the talent available in each territory based on fifty indicators grouped into 6 pillars: Facilitate, Attract, Grow, Retain, Capabilities and Knowledge. The Archipelago occupies the last place in all the pillars except 'Attract' where it occupies the seventh place and 'Knowledge', where it obtains better results than Extremadura, Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha.
Specifically, the Community of Madrid manages to lead three of the six pillars (Facilitate, Attract and Knowledge), while the Basque Country, Navarra and Catalonia lead one (Grow, Retain and Capabilities and technical vocations, respectively).
Analysis of each pillar and the position of the Canary Islands
The first pillar, Facilitate, analyzes both the market and business environment and the labor market. Among the indicators used are the number of criminal offenses, spending on R&D, ICT infrastructure, the use of technology, the vulnerability of companies and workers, teleworking or the price of housing. The Canary Islands occupies the last position.
The second pillar, Attract, is what the Canary Islands does best, which occupies the seventh position among the Spanish regions. It measures the openness of the market. For example, it takes into account the flow of Foreign Direct Investment in sectors with high added value, as well as the presence of foreign companies, international students or the proportion of foreigners with higher education.
The third pillar, Grow, examines the educational impulse of the administrations, as well as the results they achieve. The indicator includes spending on education, PISA results, the performance of university systems, training in working life or the rate of risk of poverty. The Canary Islands occupies the last position.
The fourth pillar, Retain, takes into account factors that make it easier for talent not to be expelled. In this sense, the indicator measures spending on health, social protection, environmental protection, pollution, public debt, the presence of infrastructure and health personnel, as well as the average time it takes to get to work. The Canary Islands is the last in the table.
The fifth pillar, Capabilities and technical vocations, measures the profile of the active population, both its qualifications, its productivity, employability and the correspondence between qualification and occupation. The Canary Islands occupies the last position.
The sixth and last pillar, Knowledge, analyzes the presence of personnel suitable for producing in the Knowledge Economy. It analyzes the population with higher education, the number of researchers, the availability of scientists and engineers, the percentage of senior managers, the export of high added value, spending on innovative activities or intangible investment. In this case, the Canary Islands has better data than Extremadura, Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha.
