Author: CBI
Date of Publication: 2018
Key messages on language skills:
If the UK is to be successful as an open trading nation, a culture shift is needed to make the workforce more globally-orientated by default. This fundamentally requires more of its people to be able to communicate adequately in new markets and understand overseas environments and cultures.
The government must ensure the UK remains internationally competitive and that people are ready – skilled and equipped to take advantage of the opportunities. Vital to future prosperity and export performance are science, technology, engineering and maths subjects (STEM), as well as language skills.
The British Council predicts that the top five languages needed for the UK to remain competitive globally are: Spanish, Mandarin, French, Arabic and German. If there is a lack of wider provision of foreign languages for children, UK business will suffer and will be unable to exploit global opportunities effectively.
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