ABSTRACT
Within an increasingly knowledge-based global environment, the ability to compete on skills and talent will form the frontline for winning the race for productivity and profit. In his analysis of California’s knowledge clusters, David Finegold argues that a key to creating what he refers to as self-sustaining, highskill ecosystems is the provision of the nourishment and nutrients, in the form of talent, to sustain their growth.1 In the knowledge economy, high skills are a prerequisite for high performance.2 At the firm level, this is achieved through corporate strategies embracing talent and skills.3 At the economic level, an ability to both nurture and attract skills and talent will create advantages for establishing accelerated and sustainable competitiveness.4 The attraction of talent in the knowledge economy means that policies for securing overseas investment must be adapted to a new set of investor requirements that go beyond traditional subsidies in the form of land provision and tax discounts.5
