Article Details

Article Details

Languages and Employability

Author: Luísa Araujo et al
Publisher: European Commission
Date of Publication: 2015

To understand the relationship between language knowledge and employment status, data from the Adult Education Survey 2011 for 24 European Member States was used to examine whether skills in foreign languages increase the employment rates of 25-64 year-old adults:

  • In 17 Member States knowing one foreign language, two or more and/or being proficient in the best known languages is positively related with employment chances.
  • Adults who know one or more foreign languages are more likely to be employed than those who do not know any foreign language. This relationship holds true even for basic competences.
  • Being proficient in at least one of the two best known foreign languages is positively associated with employment chances in 6 Member States.

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University of Strathclyde Education Scotland British Council Scotland The Scottish Government
SCILT - Scotlands National centre for Languages