A British Chambers of Commerce survey released in June shows that more and more British firms wish to export goods abroad, but a shortfall in language skills and exporting know-how in the business community is preventing them from doing so.
Knowledge of other languages is a critical skill for exporters, with 62% of non-exporters seeing proficiency in foreign languages – or lack thereof – as a barrier to trading internationally. Even in those businesses with some language knowledge, few staff speak well enough to conduct deals in their buyers’ language, and this is doubly important when conducting business outside large cities and administrative centres. For example, for those trading inside the Eurozone, 57% spoke no German, 65% no Spanish, and 76% no Italian. For those trading outside the Eurozone, 95% of business owners have no knowledge at all of either Russian or Chinese, and less than 1% felt that they could converse fluently in either language.
The BCC British Chambers of Commerce has urged that for the next generation of business owners, a real change in approach to the importance of language learning is needed. They recommended that the government revise the national curriculum so that studying a foreign language is compulsory until AS Level, and called for financial incentives for small companies to participate in language training. They said that rebalancing the economy towards net exports is vital for a successful UK economy.
Further information: http://tiny.cc/BCCReport2013.