Language Skills in the UK

The British Academy launched a report

about the demand and supply of

language skills in the UK in February

2013. Key findings of this report,

Languages: The State of the Nation,

include:

o There is strong evidence that the

UK is suffering from a growing

deficit in foreign language skills at

a time when global demand for

language skills is expanding;

o The range and nature of

languages being taught is

insufficient to meet current and

future demand;

o Language skills are needed at all

levels in the workforce, and not

simply by an internationally-

mobile elite;

o A weak supply of language skills

is pushing down demand and creating a vicious circle of monolingualism;

o Languages spoken by British school children, in addition to English, represent a

valuable future source of supply – if these skills can be developed appropriately.

The need for language skills

Another survey, somewhat complementary to the previous report, was conducted by

CBI/Pearson. This report offers a wider approach to this issue, adding data about education

and skills and how these affect the economic performance of the country. A special

emphasis has been placed on language skills in the business sector. The picture presents

the top languages UK managers find useful to their organisations.

Of course, the importance of language skills of the employees depends on the business

sector. However, about 70% of all company managers questioned agree that these skills are

beneficial for their organisation in one way or another.

As you can see, French and German lead the demand for foreign languages in the UK, with

Spanish coming third. This is not a surprise, since France and Germany are still the largest

export markets for British goods. The need for Polish is also predictable, considering the

large number of Polish immigrants within the UK.

Even though the European languages remain in greatest demand, one cannot overlook the

prominent increase of the Chinese language. 28% of UK managers consider Mandarin a

useful language for their organisations, while 16% consider Cantonese valuable. These

languages are important assets of their employees. Also, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese and

Japanese seem to have a greater demand compared to last year. The French and the

German markets may be the largest for the British, but the emerging markets of China,

Russia, Brazil and Japan are to be taken into serious consideration.

Language skills and economic performance

It is a known fact that SMEs that invest in language management (having a language

strategy; appointing native speakers; recruiting staff with language skills and using

translators or interpreters) get a satisfactory ROI. The export figures of these companies are

usually higher than those that stick only to one language when doing business. We have

blogged about this before and you can find out more figures here.

To find out how our translation and interpreting services can help you improve your

business abroad, contact us today.