Foreign Language Skills Can Give Jobseekers Edge During Recession
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25.2.2010 The top employers in the UK are encouraging young people to learn a second language in order to boost their prospects of employment. Around 300 firms, including some of the country’s best known names ( Boots, HSBC, IBM and British Airways) , have signed up to the ‘Try Life in Another Language’ campaign that has been launched by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the National Centre for Languages. The campaign follows a poll commissioned by the Centre which sought the opinions of 500 employers. It found that second only to IT skills, command of a second language was the most desired skill for job candidates with 43% of recruiters stating that language skills give job candidates a distinct edge when making an application. Whilst French (34%), German (25%) and Spanish (23%) are predominantly considered by employers as the most useful in the workplace, the research highlighted an emerging demand for languages such as Polish (15%), Urdu (12%) and Punjabi (9%). In 2004 the teaching of languages became non-mandatory for secondary school pupils. The government is proposing now to make foreign language study obligatory for primary school children. "This research shows that UK employers are demanding candidates with languages, and that having these skills can really give young people entering the jobs market the edge. Languages are vital for the success of the UK economy but for young people themselves they can also have tangible benefits, as just having a language on your CV could be the key to getting your foot in the door." This bulletin is for general guidance purposes only and should not be used for any other purpose.
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