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More firms demanding language skills to break into new markets - CBI/Pearson survey
Major European languages remain in high demand from British businesses but there are signs of a shift towards languages used in the world’s fastest growing markets, such as Mandarin and Arabic.
Infographic: Languages rated as useful by employers >>
In the annual CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2014 (to be published in full next month), nearly two-thirds of firms (65%) identified a need for foreign language skills, which is likely to increase as ambitious firms look to break into new fast-growing markets. With the UK’s push to rebalance to a trade and investment-led economy, better foreign language skills could be a major instrument in supporting this.
Many businesses find knowledge of a foreign language can be beneficial to their business (41%) and helpful in building relations with overseas contacts (28%). The foreign languages rated as useful include: French 50%; German 49%; Spanish 44%; Mandarin 31%; Arabic 23%; Polish 19%; Russian 18%; Cantonese 16%; Japanese 15%; Portuguese 11% (and other 16%).
Katja Hall, CBI Deputy Director-General, said:
“With the EU still our largest export market, it’s no surprise to see German, French and Spanish language skills so highly prized by companies. But with China and Latin America seeing solid growth, ambitious firms want the language skills that can smooth the path into new markets.
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