We have been banging the multilingual drum for a long time as we have seen more and more businesses seek out help with language training and language recruitment and now a global survey has confirmed what we have been saying: firms want employees who speak another language.
The survey by HR Consultancy Al Wakil quizzed employers and recruitment agencies from predominantly Europe, but also the US, Asia and the Middle East. As you would expect the demand for different languages varies depending on where in the world the survey participant was based.
All respondents, regardless of geographical location or industry, found that during the course of 2013 they had a need for talent with specific language skills, and 67% of respondents had seen that need increase compared to previous years.
The survey focused within different industries that include publishing, IT, online media, professional services, telecoms, marketing, hospitality and finance.
In Europe, where the largest number of businesses were questioned, the most sought-after languages were, perhaps not surprisingly, French and German with 78% of the survey participants stating they had looked for those language skills during 2013. Other language sought included Arabic 44%, Chinese 33% and Russian 22%.
In the Middle East all participants said English was a must have, with Arabic needed by 75% of respondents. Particular to the hospitality industry there was demand for French, Chinese and Russian speakers. It was similar in APAC (Asia and Africa) where again 100% sought English speakers and 20% also said they needed French speakers. Predictably America needed Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
Here at VICI Language Dynamics and indeed at our sister company VICI Language Academy, we always talk about understanding the culture of the country from where a chosen language originates. We do this as we feel it brings the language alive to understand the nuances and the culture and in turn widens your overall perspective in life.
Both employers and recruiters taking part in the survey said that they look for the flexibility and insights that knowledge of another language or culture gives more than simple fluency in another language.
This is illustrated in a comment from Nicola Micklem, Senior HR Manager at Capcom here in the UK, who says:
“In the games industry, having cultural diversity and a talent pool able to educate the development process as well as marketing and sales to how we can maximize revenues in local markets is becoming more and more essential to achieve a competitive edge. For us, international management as well as local know-how is more and more becoming a must-have”.
Other fascinating conclusion of the report saw more than half of respondents putting mastery of another language ahead of a degree and a similar amount said given two candidate of equal skills, they would choose the one with a second language.
Asked the question “will language and cultural skills become more important skills to have for candidates in the future?”, a whopping 67% of respondents expected a rise.
So, no need to take our word for it, languages are important whether your career has yet to start or is already in full swing. We see this with companies asking us to provide language training and others who engage with VICI Language Dynamics to test and assess candidates to ensure they can speak the required language at sufficient skill through to actually participating in the interview process more fully.
If you are a business needing guidance finding the right candidates with foreign language skills do contact us here at VICI Language Dynamics and be assured, we speak your language.