ìFluency in spoken and written English,î ìBusiness English required,î ìNative speaker preferred.î Phrases such as these are increasingly common in recruitment. For many positions, excellent English language skills are now a must. Those who cannot respond with a confident ìYesî to the question ìDo you speak Englishî will find many positions closed to them.
This is a common opinion amongst job seekers according to recent research by online recruitment specialist StepStone covering more than 3.512 job seekers across seven European countries. Nearly two thirds of respondents agreed that it is not possible to get a new job without English skills. Another 28 per cent reported that finding a new job without at least a basic knowledge of English is likely to be very difficult.
German respondents in particular emphasized the importance of English-language skills: 72 per cent believe that excellent English skills are a precondition to finding new employment, and agree that the more foreign languages you are proficient in, the better are the chances of finding a new job.
Close behind were the Dutch, Swedish, Belgian and Norwegian respondents with 66, 62, 58 and 58 per cent respectively agreeing that English language skills are a must. In Italy and Denmark, English is seen as rather less significant, with only 48 per cent and 46 per cent confirming that English skills are essential.
Only 4 per cent of the German respondents believe that it is not difficult to get a job without English. Candidates in other markets are a little more confident, especially in Norway where 20 per cent believe that lack of English is not a barrier to employment.
ìThere is no doubt that English has become the business worldís number one language. Companies today are not as locally focused as they were just a few years ago. So it is now much more important to speak at least one foreign language, and for most people this means English,î commented Colin Tenwick, CEO of StepStone on the survey results.
The survey was conducted in March 2004 through StepStoneís online career sites and covered 3,512 job seekers in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. For fuller results and demographics, please visit our web site at:
Jobs are Harder to Find Without English Language Skills
Fluency in spoken and written English, Business English required, Native speaker preferred. Phrases such as these are increasingly common in recruitment
