Firms lose business due to shortage of bilingual workers - 6 February 2008
One quarter of UK companies have lost out on business because their staff cannot speak a foreign language, according to research released last week by publisher of the Teach Yourself Business Languages Series.
The independent research conducted by Gfk NOP reveals that insufficient language skills in the workplace has meant that 17% of companies have not been able to pitch for business globally.
The survey of over 500 UK companies also found that 10% of companies incurred costs having documents translated.
Sarah Carroll, author of the Teach Yourself Business Languages Series, says: " Globalisation has prompted the demand for foreign language speakers in the UK. As companies begin to operate more within the international community, they must ensure they hire staff with good language skills. It's encouraging that some companies are beginning to recognise this demand and that they are prepared to offer foreign language speakers a premium salary."
One in four medium sized businesses felt that their company would benefit from more foreign language speakers and 25% would actively hire a candidate who could speak a second language over one that couldn't. Medium sized companies are also willing to offer bilingual employees extra incentives, 28% say they would consider paying staff with good language skills a higher salary.
By business sector companies in the Manufacturing (16%) and Catering and Leisure sectors (16%) are most in need of workers with foreign language skills. Nearly a quarter of Manufacturing sector employers would actively hire a candidate who could speak a second language over one who couldn't and 21% would offer staff extra incentives if they had foreign language skills.
Source: Online Recruitment
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