UK: Learn languages or lose out on a job

[Francis Hult]

The Guardian

 

Learn languages or lose out on a job

 

EU chief warns that British students are missing out as firms increasingly opt for bilingual graduates

 

Britons are missing out on jobs at home and abroad because of their inability to speak languages other than English, the European Union commissioner for languages has warned.

 

Leonard Orban, the EU commissioner for multilingualism, says that small- to medium-sized companies in the UK are increasingly turning to foreign nationals to fill jobs that call for more than one language.

 

His comments came as it emerged that the European Commission is facing such a severe shortage of native English-speaking interpreters that meetings are being cancelled. The commission also warns that it may have to cut the number of documents it translates because of the dwindling number of British students with degrees in French and German.

 

Full story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/21/languages.eu

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