Evaluating talent availability for a Special Economic Zone
The government of Country X is planning to set up a new industrial/economic zone in a strategic geographical area of the country, in order to take advantage of the booming economic activity of its neighbours. In order to make a case for investment, the client, a government investment agency of an Asia Pacific country, needed to examine the manpower availability and adequacy for the various planned industry verticals in the economic zone.
Synovate was engaged to project the economic zone's exact manpower needs in 2012, in line with the government's targets for each industry vertical. An in-depth value-chain analysis of each industry vertical was undertaken to ascertain the specific talent needs for each activity. These needs were then compared against the long-term availability of manpower in Country A by an in-depth analysis of the projected educational output and the available experienced talent pool. Qualitative and quantitative gaps were identified between manpower demand and supply, together with actionable recommendations for plugging those gaps in the short, medium and long term. The recommendations included attraction of foreign talent, local talent development and industry promotion, etc.
Through this engagement, the client has a clear view of the manpower situation in Country X and remedial actions are being taken in order to rectify the identified issues by following the study recommendations.