Key Finndings
1. This study makes a deep analysis into the distribution of digital talent in both the ICT industries (including software and IT services and networking and hardware) and non-ICT industries (22 traditional industries such as manufacturing, fnance, consumer goods, etc.).
· The overall proportion of digital talent in non-ICT industries is higher than that in ICT industries from 31 cities studied, inferring that digital talents have been increasingly penetrating into the non-ICT industries.
· Among them, Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, The UAE and London are ranked the top five regarding the proportion of digital talent in non-ICT industries, all exceeding 80%.
· The proportion of digital talent in ICT industries is highest in Bangalore, Hangzhou, Beijing, San Francisco, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Dublin, all exceeding 30%.
2. Among the non-ICT industries, digital talents are mainly concentrated in manufacturing, finance, consumer goods and corporate services.
· In the manufacturing industry, the top five cities with the highest proportion of digital talent are Suzhou, Munich, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Nanjing;
· In the fnance industry, the top fve cities with the highest proportion of digital talent are Hong Kong, London, Toronto, New York and Singapore;
· In the consumer goods, the top fve cities with the highest proportion of digital talent industry are Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Milan, Hong Kong and Barcelona;
· In the corporate services industry, the top fve cities with the highest proportion of talent are London, Washington, Amsterdam, Milan and Brussel.
The proportion of digital talents in the manufacturing and consumer goods industries is relatively leading in Asia-Pacific and Europe, the proportion of digital talents in the corporate services industry is relatively leading in Europe, and the proportion of digital talents in the fnancial industry is relatively balanced across the world.
3. Digital skills are more prevalent in the world's leading innovative cities, but there are significant differences among different cities. The representative skills of innovative cities in mainland China and India are mainly digital skills; the representative skills of Europe cities and other innovative cities in Asia Pacifc are more balanced between digital skills and industrial (traditional) skills; the representative skills in North America are mainly industrial (traditional) skills.
4. Disruptive digital skills (e.g.AI, data science, robotics, etc.) are core to drive deeper digital transformation.
· The SF Bay Area and Bangalore are global leaders with the highest penetration rate of disruptive skills in many felds such as material science and AI.
· The UAE, Singapore, Shanghai, Paris, Munich, London, New York, Boston, Berlin and Barcelona are in the second tier, each with obvious talent advantages with at least one or more disruptive skills.
· For example, Singapore has a stronger representation in materials science, robotics and genetic engineering felds; in Shanghai it is in the materials science, nanotechnology and robotics sectors; in Paris it is in the materials science and aerospace engineering felds.
5. Disruptive digital skills in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region show differentiated development.
· North America leads the world in the penetration rate of disruptive skills;
· Europe's overall ranking is also high on the list, with Munich, Germany taking the lead in aerospace and in Paris, France it is aerospace and material science;
· In the Asia-Pacifc Region, Bangalore, The UAE and Singapore rank higher, and Chinese cities still lag behind most North American and European cities.
6. From the perspective of global digital talent attraction, European and Asia Pacific cities take the lead in attracting global digital talent. Cities with the highest talent attraction are Dublin, Berlin, Singapore, Shenzhen and Milan. The top five cities with digital talent net outflow are Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chicago and Boston. Based on the digital talent flow, Bangalore, The UAE, Singapore, SF Bay Area and New York are the global digital talent migration hubs.
7. From intercontinental migration perspective, digital talent from North America and APAC are more locally mobile (87%), which shows that suffcient positions to retain digital talents. The two-way flow of digital talent in North America and the Asia-Pacifc region is frequent; digital talent in Europe mainly flows to the Asia-Pacifc region.
· More than 87% of digital talents in North America migrated between cities within North America, and nearly 10% migrated out to the Asia-Pacifc Region, and about 3% to Europe.
· In Europe about 36% of digital talents migrated between European cities, about 48% migrated out to the Asia-Pacifc Region, and about 16% to North America.
· In the Asia-Pacifc Region about 68% of digital talents migrated between cities within the Asia-Pacifc Region, with about 21% migrating out to North America and 11% to Europe.
