The Problem with the British

The British economy is losing £48bn every year. So, who’s to blame? The Tories? Dave? Boris? The banks? People spending too much time on social media? Who is responsible for the problem with the British?

The Problem with the British

The people who are at fault in this particular case are the Brits themselves. Everyone knows that the British don’t speak other languages, and this small fact is costing the UK economy £48bn every year. Whether this is from laziness (everyone speaks English anyway) or arrogance (everyone should speak English anyway) before you complain about the lack of job opportunities you may want to consider the following truths:

– 75% of UK private sector employers see a need in having foreign language skills
– UK attributes 16% of the total job vacancies to shortages in foreign language skills
– 57% of UK employers recruit from other countries in the EU (language skills being a key factor)
– 31% of SMEs cite languages and foreign cultures as the biggest barrier to export growth
– 45% of the largest companies listed in the UK now have non-British chief executives

One argument highlighted by BrExit supporters is the lack of influence the UK has in Brussels. Quite possibly this may have something to do with the fact only 5% of the jobs in the European Parliament and Commission are taken by British workers – although the UK contains 12% of the EU’s population. The reason for this being poor foreign language skills among the British workforce, leaving the UK grossly under-represented in European Union institutions.

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Sources
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/dec/10/language-skills-deficit-costs-uk-economy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education-13314147
http://www.ucml.ac.uk/sites/default/files/pages/160/State_of_the_Nation_REPORT_WEB.pdf

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