Almost 20% of the world's population speak Mandarin but if you want to boost your pay what languages are in the highest demand by employers? We are living in an increasingly global economy and if Brexit ever occurs we will be trying to cut trade deals in new countries where English is not the business language so what does that mean for talent with language skills and the next generation of students?
In the UK we can be complacent and just assume we will be fine with no language skills because most places we visit we find that people speak English and prefer to practice than use their native language. Is that changing as we broaden our export horizons?
My final point is that of knowing the value of your language skills? The attached article shares a range of premiums for different languages from Arabic to Swedish.
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This sentiment is reflected in research by jobs site Indeed, which found that German and French were the two languages most sought after by UK employers, with 1,221 per million job vacancies specifying German language skills as a requirement, and 1,152 postings seeking francophones. There has been a 35pc jump in listings for Chinese speakers over the last three years, to 643 per million postings, making it the third most sought-after language, while listings for Spanish speakers fell 9.5pc to 567 posts, placing it fourth on the list.
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