In different periods of history, humanity fought for a variety of resources.
However, in the post-industrial era, competition for the intelligence of people comes to the fore.
The well-being of both commercial companies, especially transnational ones, and entire states directly depends on the “quality of brains”.
In the corporate world the practice of searching for specialists was called headhunting – although earlier this word had a completely literal meaning.
The need for new specialists is especially noticeable during periods of industrial revolutions.
These are relatively short periods in history, during which the introduction of new production methods leads to the transformation of society.
These are relatively short periods in history, during which the introduction of new production methods leads to the transformation of society.
According to popular belief, we are now at the epicenter of the 4th industrial revolution.
The industrial revolutions made entire professions irrelevant.
It is difficult even to imagine the fate of many existing and familiar professions.
Some professions will change and split into more private ones.
Others will be at risk of extinction. Their tasks will pass to more skilled workers or artificial intelligence.
The US government estimates that 65% of primary school students will have occupations that don't even exist yet.
And a study by the University of Oxford showed that 47% of existing professions are at high risk of extinction.
The first places will be occupied by professions, one way or another related to intellectual work and technical progress.
Moreover, these trends have been obvious for a long time, due to global reasons. In just 100 years the literacy of the world's population has grown from 30% to 85%.
As of 2021, there were only two countries in the world with a literacy rate of less than 30%.
The same is with higher education: over the past 50 years, the number of people studying in universities has grown from 10% to 35%.
At present you can see that states are spending more on education.
At the same time, the median age of an inhabitant of the planet is growing. This also determines the importance of intellectual, and therefore more productive work.
- the work experience and qualifications of the average worker are growing,
- the number of workers who are ready to engage in low-paid, ineffective labor is shrinking.
- the number of workers who are ready to engage in low-paid, ineffective labor is shrinking.
The economy's need for intellectual workers is high. They are constantly in high demand, especially for ICT specialists.
And the number of doctors in developed countries who have arrived from abroad is constantly growing.
The tech giants are on the hunt for skilled talents.
The COVID-19 pandemic, with its remote work, has made it easier for companies to find staff around the world, but at the same time it has outlined a new trend. Companies are beginning to regulate salaries depending on the city and country of the employee's residence.
Seeing all this, many countries are making efforts to attract intellectual workers: IT, scientists, doctors and even entire startups.
Commercial companies have also long serious problems with a shortage of the necessary specialists.
In an effort to keep up with the “intellectual power” marketplace, commercial companies spend huge amounts of money on training and retraining their staff.
It is becoming clear that educated, skilled workers will be a key resource in the economy of the 21st century.
The policy of attracting and retaining such specialists will become a necessary condition for the prosperity of both companies and nation states.