While there are twice as many experienced university graduates in low-wage countries as in high-wage countries, only a fraction of this total labor pool is actually suitable to work for a multinational company's offshore operations. In addition, many countries beyond China and India have sizable, attractive talent pools.
The background for the report examines the current debate on offshoring and the context for MGI’s latest research effort, defines terms used in the report, explains the report's scope, and introduces the questions covered by the research.
While the supply of labor in low-wage countries exceeds that of high wage countries, a number of factors reduce the potential talent supply for global resourcing in low-wage nations: language abilities, overall quality of the educational system and its ability to convey practical skills, and soft issues such as communication confidence and work ethics.
