Language Skills Can Improve the Economy
UK Economy’s growth depends on many factors and one of them is the export. If the UK increases its export it means more money is flowing into the economy which should lead to more money being spend in the UK thus driving local businesses. British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) have been focusing on improving exports (among other goals), and their findings suggest that language skills have a big role to play in export!
BCC’s survey released in 2012 suggests that 61% of business which might be interested in exporting do not try it because they don’t have the language skills within the business. They see the language barriers as real entry barriers. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that BCC claims that: ‘language skills are vital for export.’
The survey also revealed that even when businesses have some language skills internally, they are not sufficient to help with business matters such as technical documentations, legal texts, contract negotiations or contract translation. They mention that 73% businesses have some French language skills and out of those businesses only 4% are able to engage in conducting business deals in French language. This figure drops even further if we look at less common languages. For instance, only 4% of surveyed businesses confirmed they have some knowledge of Chinese compared with 73% for French; and the truth is, from the economical point of view businesses should focus on Chinese more than French.
John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said that ‘providing compulsory education in languages for young people will transform many of the great businesses we have in the UK into success stories overseas.’ However, that’s a long term view. Teaching foreign languages takes time, and it will also require a cultural change before more young people realise that not everybody speaks English.
For a business considering exporting, partnering with a translation agency is probably the quickest and most cost effective way of breaking the language barriers. Your partner agency will provide language skills when you need them on project by project basis. Compared to a full time salaried foreign speakers this option may save lots of money. Also, translation agency will have thousands of translators specialising in different areas of expertise and can provide certified translation. Technical translators would be utilised for translation of technical documents, whereas marketing copy will be translated by a translator with marketing translation experience.
In addition, you might wish to expand to several countries simultaneously, which means that you’d need to cover several languages and it might prove difficult to hire multilingual staff able to support all of your overseas endeavours. On the other hand, a translation agency would be able to support all your language requirements.
If you are looking for a translation agency which can support your business and help you expand internationally, do get in touch with us. Our wide range of translation services and the coverage of over 120 languages means we can support all your translation needs.
