How can languages

work for you?

Languages and Careers

What is the jobs market for individuals with language skills?

‘in an increasingly competitive job market, it is clear that foreign language proficiency adds

significant value to a candidate’s portfolio of skills, and can give them a real competitive

edge when applying for jobs’

CBI Education and Skills Survey, 2009

• Latest research

• 74% of employers want language skills

• 36% recruit specifically for language skills

• Main demand is still for European languages:

52% want French, 43% German, 28% Spanish.

• Interest also in

Mandarin/Cantonese(38%), Russian (21%) and

Portuguese (10%).

According to business

UK police forces – top language = Polish

Other Eastern European, Asian and African languages also in demand

Metropolitan Police provides interpreting in approximately 105 languages (yet figures quote 300 languages spoken in London)

Not just the police – local authorities and NHS all require language skills across diverse languages

According to the public sector

Change in language use on the Internet

Balance of trade

• ‘I can’t think of a single career area where language skills are not an advantage’

Rachel Usher, Independent Schools Careers Organisation

All these companies have advertised posts with

languages

• Jobs where languages are integral

• Jobs where languages are an added bonus

• Jobs where languages are an indicator of general ability and outlook

The languages required were diverse –

there’s no ‘one’ language to learn

Vacancies for linguists include

Sectors where languages were used included:

IT, creative and media, retail, law, finance, business, energies and utilities, manufacturing, computer games production, construction, property management, engineering, tourism, hospitality, central and local government

Vorsprung durch Technik

Because you’re worth it

• ‘Our company offers international career opportunities for which we need talented, multilingual individuals’

Alexander Snelling, L’Oréal UK Ltd

Public services

‘Paramedics often don’t have the time to find an interpreter, like a hospital does. They need information quickly and so it’s great if paramedics speak the language of a family that doesn’t speak good English’

Brian Goodwin, Ambulance Service Association.

Retail

• High level of interaction with the public

• Customers more likely to buy if addressed in own language

• Increased multilingualism (tourism, diversity, globalisation)

• UK employers are not all language-aware, but they are

becoming more so

• They can, and do, recruit internationally

• They don’t just want language skills

• They want the right mix of skills for their company

Some home truths

• ‘an international dimension’

• ‘ability to build relationships’

• ‘awareness of cultural differences’

• ‘team-working, oral communication, problem-solving’

Understanding what employers want

Where can I find out more?

www.languageswork.org.uk

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