Learning the language

By Sophie Howe, Mid-Warwickshire branch chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

I am delighted to be writing my first column for Business Focus.

Over the coming weeks and months I will share many of the issues affecting companies here in this area, some of the work the Chamber is doing to address those issues and will offer a general update on all things business.

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My first topic, however, will seem like a world away from Leamington, Kenilworth and Warwick but it’s never been more relevant.

While, yes, companies in this region will always trade and do business with one another there is a growing need to start looking to trade overseas and with countries that were once ignored.

For example, Brazil, Russia, India and China – the BRIC economies, as they are known – represent a huge opportunity for companies here in Warwickshire.

The Chamber met with Nick Baird recently. He is the new chief executive of UKTI and the message is loud and clear that we have to make the most of these opportunities and that there is support out there to do it. That can be accessed through the Chamber and more information will be available on that at our Business and Trade Expo at Brandon Hall today.

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One of the barriers to this international trade is language skills – or the lack of – here in the UK.

My own business – a translation company – benefits from the lack of language ability in this country so it might seem odd that I am championing the cause for everyone to improve their languages.

But I understand that beyond our own business interest, there is a crucial need for the economy of Warwickshire, the West Midlands and, indeed, the country to address this problem.

It begins with education and, in particular, the curriculum. I am staggered that languages are optional after the age of 14 – a policy which has resulted in 57 per cent of UK pupils taking no language at GCSE in 2010.

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That has to change if we are to compete on a global scale in the future.

Also, the myth has been perpetuated that ‘everyone else speaks English’. Do they really? In fact, 75 per cent of the world doesn’t speak English. In 2000, 50 per cent of the copy on the web was in English. That was down to 29 per cent in 2009.

What’s more, it might still be acceptable to buy in English abroad but this is about trying to trade and sell. Customers are three times more likely to buy if they are addressed in their native language.

So we have to put this right and I would urge companies out there to look at language training and gain support from organisations such as the Chamber when it comes to international trade.

Our local and regional trade is extremely important but there is a world of opportunity out there for all of us.

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