UK
companies lose out on £750m a year because staff
have poor foreign language skills.
A
survey of 950 foreign firms by market researcher ICLP reveals three-quarters of
them decided not to use a UK
company because its staff only spoke English. Those with translators fared
little better, the survey shows.
ICLP’s Ian Hutchinson said:
“British companies are perceived as very talented. However, the most
influential negative is their inability to speak languages.”
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Just
22 per cent of UK
managers knew the Spanish for ‘yes’ and ‘no’, according to the survey.
