Press Release - Firms Are Losing Business Because Workers aren’t Bilingual

One quarter of companies have lost out on business because staff can’t speak a foreign language
28% of employers would be willing to pay staff more if they had language skills
25% of medium-sized companies would benefit from more foreign language speakers

One quarter of UK companies (26%) have lost out on business because their staff cannot speak a foreign language, according to research released today by teach yourself, publishers 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 teach yourself Business Spanish and teach yourself Business French, 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.

Sarah continues: “China is one of the fastest growing global markets and the demand for UK Mandarin Chinese speakers is increasing. Mandarin Chinese is quickly becoming the most useful languages to know in business and Spanish may well end up rivalling English as a global business language in the Americas by 2050. Businesses need to be aware of this and invest in foreign language speakers so they are able to compete in the global market.”

Employees can also benefit by having language skills as 18% of all companies’ surveyed say that they would be willing to pay those with language skills a premium salary.

* The research was conducted in December 2007 by GFK NOP on behalf of teach yourself and Hodder Education who surveyed 500 UK employers.