Warsaw ranks 55th globally in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index and outperforms many cities in the region. The capital attracts specialists, students and entrepreneurs from different parts of the world, but the latest Warsaw Talent Cluster report shows that in the global competition for talent, the strength of the labour market alone is no longer enough. Integration, retention, the quality of public services and the city’s ability to encourage people to stay for longer are becoming increasingly important.
For years, Warsaw has been building its position as one of the most important economic and academic centres in Central and Eastern Europe. It is home to Poland’s largest labour market, as well as strong business services, finance, IT, technology and education sectors. The city attracts investment, students, experts and people looking for a place to develop their careers in a more international environment.
The Warsaw Talent Cluster report, prepared by the City of Warsaw and the Centre for Research on Social Change and Human Mobility (CRASH) at Kozminski University under the leadership of Professor Izabela Grabowska, offers more than a positive story about an attractive metropolis. It is an in-depth analysis of how Warsaw functions in the global circulation of talent: whom it attracts, which skills it needs, which regions specialists come from and what barriers may make it harder for them to remain in the city.
A city with a strong labour market
In the Global Talent Competitiveness Index, Warsaw ranks 55th in the world. This is a competitive position, especially in the context of Central and Eastern Europe, although it also shows that the capital still has room to strengthen its standing among the most attractive global talent hubs.
Warsaw’s main strength is its labour market. According to data cited in the report, the unemployment rate in the city is 1.4 percent, while the employment rate in the Warsaw region has reached 86.5 percent, the highest level among European Union regions. The capital is also attracting a growing number of international students. In 2023, there were around 33,000 of them.
Warsaw also stands out because of the scale of its academic base. The city has 84 higher education institutions, making it the largest educational centre in Poland. The report indicates that graduates of Warsaw’s largest universities often enter prestigious companies, while study programmes are closely linked to the needs of the local labour market.
More than one million professionals
One of the important elements of the report is its analysis of LinkedIn Talent Insights data. It shows the scale of Warsaw’s professional labour market. According to the data used in the study, Warsaw has more than 1.01 million people classified as professionals, more than three times as many as Kraków, which ranks second among the Polish cities analysed.
This confirms the dominant position of the capital, but the report does not stop at the simple conclusion that Warsaw is “winning”. The authors point out that when calculated per working-age resident, the city’s advantage is no longer so clear. This means that other centres, especially Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk, are also strengthening their position and competing more actively for people with advanced skills.
The conclusion is clear: Warsaw has enormous potential, but it cannot rely solely on its status as the capital. In the competition for talent, an advantage is never guaranteed once and for all.
Two talent corridors
The report describes in detail the two most important migration talent corridors feeding Warsaw’s labour market.
The first is the Eastern European Talent Corridor, covering mainly Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Georgia. It is the largest in terms of numbers. Migrants from this region are strongly present in services, IT, finance, technology and entrepreneurship. Geographic, cultural and linguistic proximity makes it easier for them to enter the Polish labour market, although this does not mean that barriers disappear.
The second is the Asian Talent Corridor, including countries such as India, the Philippines and Turkey. It is smaller in scale, but highly specialised. Migrants from this area bring skills that are particularly important for technology, engineering, finance, data analysis and international business. Their potential is significant, but it is often more difficult to use fully because of administrative, linguistic and cultural barriers.
This distinction matters. Warsaw does not attract one uniform group of migrants. It attracts different talent profiles, with different needs, skills and adaptation paths. Effective urban policy must understand these differences.
The talent is here, but retention is key
One of the most important conclusions of the report is that attracting talent is only the beginning. The real challenge is retaining it.
Today, cities compete not only through job offers, but through the entire experience of living: the quality of transport, housing availability, administrative services, the language of public services, development opportunities for families, safety, a culture of openness and everyday comfort.
The report shows that migrants value Warsaw for its safety, dynamic labour market, well-developed public transport, educational offer and the scale of professional opportunities. At the same time, they point to barriers: difficulties in the recognition of qualifications, complex administrative procedures, the language barrier, high living costs and insufficient support in entering the labour market.
This is especially important for highly skilled migrants. If they cannot work in line with their qualifications, if they are employed below their skill level or if they do not see a clear development path, they may treat Warsaw as a transitional stage rather than a place for long-term life and career development.
Welcome Desk, mentoring and cooperation networks
The authors of the report point to specific recommendations. One of the most important is the creation of a Welcome Desk for migrant talent: a centre providing professional, administrative and integration support for people with migration experience.
Such a place could help with the recognition of qualifications, career counselling, contacts with employers, navigation through administrative procedures and social integration. Similar solutions already operate in many cities around the world, including Berlin, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
The report also points to the need to develop language programmes, mentoring, support for the retention of international students and specialists, and global networks of business and academic cooperation. Universities, employers, public administration and civil society organisations can jointly create an ecosystem that not only attracts talent, but also helps people stay, develop and contribute value to the local economy.
Why does this matter for the city?
Migrant talent is not merely a supplement to the labour market. It can become one of the key sources of innovation, entrepreneurship and international development for Warsaw. Migrants bring knowledge, languages, experience of working in different organisational cultures, familiarity with foreign markets and networks that can support the development of companies, universities and institutions.
For the city, this represents an opportunity to strengthen competitiveness, but also a responsibility. If Warsaw wants to become one of Europe’s most important talent hubs, it must invest not only in attracting people, but also in their real inclusion in the life of the city.
Warsaw as an open metropolis of the future
The Warsaw Talent Cluster report presents Warsaw as a city with strong pulling power, but also as a metropolis facing a strategic decision. It can remain a place where talented people come for a while, or it can become a city where they want to stay, build careers, start companies, study, conduct research and raise families.
This requires a conscious talent policy based on data, cooperation and sound diagnosis. This is why the project carried out by the City of Warsaw and the CRASH team at Kozminski University is so important. It shows that modern urban policy cannot be based on intuition. It must understand the mobility, skills, needs and barriers of the people who co-create the city’s future.
Warsaw is already attracting global talent. The most important question now is: how can the city make them want to stay?
***
Based on the report: Warsaw Talent Cluster, City of Warsaw, Strategy and Analysis Office, and Kozminski University, Centre for Research on Social Change and Human Mobility (CRASH). Authors: Izabela Grabowska, Agnieszka Bezat-Jarzębowska, Emil Chról and Ivanna Kyliushyk.
Raport available here: https://um.warszawa.pl/waw/wspolpraca-z-nauka/-/warszawa-blizej-pozycji-lidera-w-przyciaganiu-globalnych-talentow
