Manpower
Linguaskill survey
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Scandinavia's jobseekers
top multilingual skills table
English is still
the most sought after additional language by employers and the Scandinavians
have what it takes, according to a recent survey by Manpower.
Our special feature looks at the results
from the Manpower Linguaskill survey which has produced a language
assessment of 12,000 jobseekers applying for positions in 26 of
the countries in which it operates.
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Linguaskill
leads the way
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Manpower, the
world's leading recruiter of specialist, flexible and contract workforces,
releases research on language ability among its multilingual jobseekers.
This research gives a perspective on the multilingual ability levels
of a particular segment of the workforce - jobseekers with language
skills, looking for temporary multilingual work.
The global organisation
and performance consultancy, The Empower Group, an independent operating
division of Manpower Inc, was commissioned by Manpower to collate
the results of its Linguaskill language assessments carried out
among Manpower jobseekers worldwide. Linguaskill is Manpower's proprietary
language assessment tool, used to assess language ability and match
people and their skills to appropriate jobs. Data from over 12,000
language assessments in 26 countries was used in the analysis.
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English
language assessments
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The analysis
shows that in all the countries, English is the most commonly assessed
additional language and is the most sought after language for employers.
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The results
reveal that people assessed in Scandinavian countries have
the greatest competency in English. In Norway, 80% of people
assessed reached at least intermediate level and about half
of these have advanced or very advanced ability. People assessed
in Finland and Denmark also show high levels of English competency
with around 70% reaching at least intermediate level.
In
the Netherlands, Belgium and Russia 55 - 60% of English assessments
show intermediate level or better. (Russia's results are collated
from two large urban centres, Moscow and St Petersburg). Results
of assessments carried out in Italy, Spain and Japan range
from 36% to 49% reaching at least intermediate level English.
Around 35% of people assessed in most South American countries
reach intermediate level English or better, except for Paraguay
(about 20%). Surprisingly, English assessments in Germany
show only 25% competency in the intermediate/advanced category.
Scores in France are also low with only 28% achieving intermediate/advanced
level English. Thailand comes lowest in the table, ranked
at only 18%.
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French
language assessments
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Compared
to English, fewer employers are looking for French language
skills. Of the Linguaskill assessments for French language
skills carried out in Spain, Italy and Belgium 60-65% fall
in the intermediate/advanced category.
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German
language assessments
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For German
language skills, Scandinavia again reaches a high standard
with over 60% of those assessed achieving intermediate level
or better. Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg), Belgium and
Italy follow with around 50%.
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Linguaskill
assessment results for English by country and standard reached
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Intermediate,
advanced and very advanced (%)
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Advanced
and very advanced (%)
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Norway
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80
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45
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Finland
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71
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43
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Denmark
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68
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37
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Russia
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58
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27
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Holland |
57
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23
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Belgium
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56
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27
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Japan
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49
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18
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Spain
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40
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19
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Italy
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36
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15
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Argentina
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35
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14
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Other
Americas |
35
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16
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Uruguay
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30
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11
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Austria
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29
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12
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France
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28
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10
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Germany |
25
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10
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Paraguay |
19
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6
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Thailand
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18
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2
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TOTAL
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43
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20
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Contrary to popular
expectations, it appears that language skills improve with age,
at least among Manpower's multilingual jobseekers. The data shows
that older people have better English language skills than younger
people. 46% of the under 25s assessed achieve intermediate level
or better in English, compared with 65% of those aged 50+. The data
also indicates this correlation is not solely restricted to English
language ability; it seems to apply whether the language being assessed
is French, Dutch, German or English.
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Gender
and language ability
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According to
the analysis, women show slightly stronger English, German and Dutch
language abilities whereas men demonstrate a slightly better ability
in French.
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Recruiting
language skills from abroad
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Supporting the
findings of this analysis, X-Border Connexions (XBC) Manpower's
pan-European recruitment division, has confirmed that more people
apply for jobs abroad from the Nordic countries than anywhere else
in Europe - over 30% of all applicants.
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Dominance
of English is apparent.
It is the most sought after additional language by employers.
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The results
of Manpower's analysis underline the importance and dominance of
English as a business language worldwide.
For
more information on getting a job using your language advantage
for competitive advantage, take a look at our Language
Advantage Jobs section>>
For more information on using your language advantage for competitive
advantage in the workplace, take a look at our Language
Advantage Work section>>
For more surveys on the importance
of languages in modern life and business, take a look at our Language
Advantage Surveys section.
Linguaskill
is designed to assess the kinds of language skills needed by businesses
all over the world against an objective international standard.
It is part of the toolkit that enables us to match people with jobs.
Through the
use of its language assessment tool Linguaskill, Manpower is able
to compile data on the level of language skills among jobseekers
in 26 of the 59 countries in which it operates.
The University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, a premier
language-testing organisation, jointly developed the Linguaskill
assessment tool with Manpower. Linguaskill assessments exist in
English, French, German, Dutch and Spanish and were developed in
partnership with Europe's leading centres of language study to meet
the needs of Manpower customers around the world. The lead developer
was the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate with
development in their respective languages provided by the Alliance
Française, the Goethe-Institut, the Universidad de Salamanca
and the Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven.
Linguaskill is a multimedia PC-based assessment that uses a combination
of on screen questions, some with video and audio. It measures listening
and reading comprehension, vocabulary and grammar, spelling and
writing skills. It assesses different levels of language ability
from basic, intermediate, advanced to very advanced. It is an adaptive
test that enables accurate assessment of a candidate's ability in,
on average, 45 minutes. Candidates achieving top scores (levels
4 or 5) have understood and responded to complex text passages and
demonstrated near-native speaker comprehension. Less able candidates
are presented with less complex material to suit their ability.
Linguaskill assesses jobseekers with language abilities for specific
roles within Manpower client companies. The assessments allow Manpower
to select and match the right candidate to the right job. These
multilingual roles may range from administrative to customer services
positions. The people assessed are jobseekers in the temporary work
market rather than a balanced sample of the whole population. They
are also being assessed for the jobs Manpower clients are seeking
to fill with multilingual staff - mainly administrative and service.
Questions & Answers
Q: Which languages does Linguaskill assess?
A: The languages currently assessed are English, French, German,
Spanish and Dutch. Skills tested are general language proficiency,
vocabulary, grammatical competence, and reading and listening comprehension.
Q: What is the
structure of the Linguaskill assessment?
A: It is a multimedia-based assessment, testing grammar and vocabulary,
spelling and writing skills. The duration of the assessment is 45
minutes. It defines levels of competence from basic to very advanced.
When the assessment results are complete, the candidate is given
a Statement of Accomplishment. The Statement explains the level
of skills that the candidate has achieved and defines the language
offering to a potential employer.
Q: What type
of language skills are employers looking for?
A: It varies naturally from employer to employer. Some examples
include: using the telephone, dealing face to face with customers,
writing reports, understanding specialised documents and reports,
and communicating persuasively when dealing with clients.
Q: Does Manpower
offer any specialist services for language speakers?
A: Manpower encourages the use of languages through its pan-European
recruitment service X-Border Connexions (XBC). XBC has recruited
and relocated over 2000 employees from across the EU and offers
candidates the opportunity to live and work in another country whilst
building their careers with internationally renowned companies
Q: Why are no
results published for the UK?
A: English-speaking countries in general, have low employer demand
for multilingual skills; this is reflected in the results published.
There is therefore less demand in English speaking countries for
Linguaskill tests.
Manpower encourages
and enables the use of language skills with its pan-European recruitment
and relocation division, X-Border Connexions (XBC). XBC has been
set up to meet an ever-growing demand for pan-European staffing
solutions within the contact centre industry. With 200,000 additional
vacancies forecast over the next three years (source: Datamonitor)
companies are increasingly looking to source employees with language
skills from elsewhere within the EU.
X-Border Connexions has unrivalled experience in pan-European recruitment
and has recruited and relocated over 2000 employees for some of
the most renowned International companies. Organisations considering
setting up contact centres need a pan-European recruitment and HR
management provider that can deal with the complexity of cross-border
staffing quickly, efficiently and effectively. Manpower is uniquely
positioned to do this in Europe.
More information can be obtained from www.manpowerabroad.com.
Manpower Inc is a world leader in the staffing industry, providing
workforce management services and solutions to customers through
3,800 offices in 59 countries. The company annually provides employment
to more than 2.7 million people worldwide and is an industry leader
in employee assessment and training. Find out more at www.manpower.com
Jim Sykes works
for Manpower Abroad, the specialist multilingual section of Manpower.
For more information, please email Jim on jim.sykes@manpower.co.uk
Further information is available at www.manpowerabroad.com
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