BREAKING THE LANGUAGE BARRIER


With globalisation at an all-time high and with the job market facing potential upheaval through political and economic disruption, one recruitment organisation in the UK is saying that languages are becoming increasingly important within the job market Online recruitment agency, Top


Language Jobs, has conducted a survey to gauge attitudes to foreign languages in a country long famous for being behind the rest of Europe in multi-lingual skills. According to the survey results, more


than half of the population who speak more than one language say they use it actively in their job and now more people are opting to learn a second language as a way of getting ahead in their careers. In this respect, older generations are in


danger of being left behind as younger people are adapting more quickly, with 18-24-year-olds most likely to know more than one language (66 per cent) compared with only a quarter of the 55-64s. They believe it positively affects their career potential, with 74 per cent of the 18-34s surveyed saying they actively use other languages in their careers (vs only 24 per cent of 55-64s). According to the survey respondents, the need for foreign languages will


❱❱ Language skills could boost job potential for engineers


continue to grow with the majority saying they would actively encourage their children to learn another language. The government reflects this sentiment


and has the ambition to have 90 per cent of British pupils sitting a GCSE in a language by 2025 and has allocated funding to set up a national language centre along with the creation of nine school hubs to raise standards of language teaching in secondary schools.


The University of York has received government funding to build England’s first modern foreign languages (MFL) centre for excellence, worth £2.17m. With multi-lingual Brits still being in a


minority, there are opportunities for engineers to add language skills to their CVs to set them apart from others when entering the competition for jobs in industries that now span national boundaries more than ever before.


A new accelerator programme, IN4.0 ACCESS, is set to provide benefits to manufacturers in the North West of England. Supported by global businesses, the


INDUSTRY 4.0 ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME HEADS NORTH Commenting on the programme, IN4.0


programme is a disruptive innovation accelerator scheme, aimed at supporting pioneering manufacturers, helping to develop their businesses through digital and technological transformation and allowing them to scale and succeed at pace through the effective deployment of Industry 4.0 concepts. According to industry figures, Industry


4.0 could boost the UK economy by £350 billion by 2030. In the North West, new research released by Make UK suggests the manufacturing sector was worth £28.5billion over the past year – and that figure would be accelerated by upskilling employees and implementing Industry 4.0 techniques. The new programme has been running


in Lancashire and Manchester for the past month, where 40 future leaders from local businesses including Hyde Aero Products, Poppies Europe and Kaman, form part of the first cohort. Paul Mellor, a delegate on the


programme and technical director at Hyde Aero Products, said: “I’ve joined the course because I want to fully understand the Industry 4.0 concept so we can inform our


‘


group CEO, Mo Isap, said: “This is a unique accelerator programme delivered to manufacturers across the North West. Through our partners in large, innovative businesses and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), we are helping manufacturers understand the opportunities that digital transformation brings.”


This is a unique accelerator programme


business strategy. I want to roadmap our IN4.0 strategy in line with the very best industry experts. “We plan to introduce new skills into the


business, via training and upskilling our existing people, as well as drawing in new talent to the business.”


the Degree Apprenticeship Levy and enables companies to up-skill their technical staff to UCLan Postgraduate Diploma Engineering Competence Level and MSc Engineering (Design & Development) level.


delivered to manufacturers across the North West The programme can be funded through


’ December 2019 /// Testing & Test Houses /// 39


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