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Swiss good at nurturing talent, says WEF report

Switzerland's successful apprentice system gives it a competitive edge KEYSTONE/Ennio Leanza

Switzerland has clinched third place in an international ranking of countries based on their ability to help citizens maximise their economic potential though education and employment.

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Human Capital ReportExternal link released on Wednesday gave the Swiss high marks for making the most of its population’s talent through education, skills development and deployment into the workforce. The report analysed 124 countries across 46 indicators and gave Switzerland a score of 83.58%. Only Finland (85.78%) and Norway (83.84%) scored higher.

The Swiss education system helped the country do well in the ranking. The high quality of primary schools, the popularity of vocational education and high level of skills diversity got special mention. Being ranked number one for staff training and third in terms of share of people in high-skilled employment also helped.

Switzerland was given the top spot in the previous version of report released in 2013 but it is not possible to compare the results.

“The Human Capital Report of 2013 used quite different methodology, so we are not encouraging any comparison between the two reports,” Oliver Cann, WEF’s media relations director told swissinfo.ch.

However, according to him, the 2015 report is more accurate because the model used is “unprecedented in terms of the insight it provides”.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR