English may be a world language, but is it really enough to compete in the global job race?
Photograph: Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images
Language skills boost career prospects.
English is the world language, the dominant lingua franca in
commerce and media. The language cruises at the apex of globalisation,
technology and pop music, and is arguably at its most dominant position
in its history. But
is this a blessing or a curse for the people who
speak it as a native language, rather than a second language? And is
there any point of learning another language?
Graduates in the UK
are facing stiff competition in this seemingly never-ending economic
slump. Carl Gilleard, former chief executive of the
Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR),
says: "Businesses require talent to compete at a global level, and the
fact that the UK is lagging behind its competitors in developing
graduates who fit the bill is a real cause of concern."
According to Eurostat,
54% of Europeans can converse in at least one foreign language. In
comparison, just 39% of Brits claimed the same. In fact, only a 1% lower
score for Ireland saves us from being labelled the most monolingual
country in Europe. Aside from the slight PR boost from
Nick Clegg's Dutch and
Boris Johnson's French, if language is the "dress of thought", then our wardrobes are bare.
Having
contracted a serious case of
wanderlust on my gap year, I moved to the
French-Canadian metropolis of Montréal. For me, living there while
studying Chinese and economics helped push my proficiency in French far
beyond my flailing GCSE level. It also helped me unshackle myself from
the sluggish UK
graduate jobs market by opening up opportunities in alternative countries and growth markets.
The
Confederation of British Industry's Education and Skills Survey 2012
concluded that almost three quarters of businesses value foreign
language skills among employees, and nearly 70% are not satisfied with
young peoples' linguistic skills.
German tops the list of languages
rated as most useful, followed by French, Spanish, Mandarin and Polish.
A
separate survey of 1,000 UK graduates revealed that 14% lost out on a job in the digital sector because they did not speak another language.
...
Speaking one language gets you onto the
racetrack,
but two will knock down half the hurdles. Communicating in a
foreign tongue can be the
most exhilarating experience. And
it will
probably help you get a job too.
Loksan Harley works for Kreab Gavin Anderson, an international communications consultancy.
