Foreign Language Skills Needed
An article in The Guardian newspaper yesterday clearly outlined that there are available jobs in London and the UK for people with foreign language skills. The Guardian was quoting a report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) which said that…
- 70% of businesses value foreign language skills among their employees
- Foreign language skills are especially relevant in building client relationships and in customer services
- French and German are the most in demand foreign languages
- Mandarin and Cantonese increasingly in demand
- 95% of companies say there is a skill shortage for their job vacancies
- The need for foreign language skills is commonly mentioned in certain occupations such as Sales and Customer Service
- In Northern Ireland not having a foreign language is the reason 34% of applicants are not suitable for a job vacancy
So, what does all this mean for someone learning English?
How do I get a job in London?
If you are a native-speaker of French, German, Mandarin or Cantonese AND you have learnt English (and more specifically Business English) to a strong level, then according to the official CBI report, you definitely fulfil the requirements that are lacking in UK-born job seekers. In other words, you can speak English sufficiently well to do business, PLUS you can be an extremely useful asset to companies that are doing business with ‘foreign’ customers. If you are a Spanish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Polish (and any other language) speaker, then when you find a company in the UK that needs a foreign language speaker, YOU have the advantage of being a mother-tongue speaker. If your English is good enough, then you have a great opportunity and should apply for the vacant job post – if you want to live and work in the UK, that is! 🙂
SUMMARY
The CBI report shows that jobs are waiting for people with language skills! If you are from ‘abroad’, you are a native speaker of that foreign language. OK, you have to speak English, but remember…
- English native speakers are famously very bad at learning another language
- English is much easier and quicker to learn than most other languages (e.g. Mandarin, Russian, German etc)
English qualifications
An excellent way to prove to a future employer that your English is at a high level is by taking the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) … or BULATS (Business Language Testing Service) exam. These international qualifications are clear proof to any company that you have the capability to do business in English and are highly employable.
Contact SGI – we can help
WHY NOT CONTACT SGI (with no commitment) to find out how we can help you start your career in the UK with an English qualification? 
