Why business English skills are the gateway to success

The need for an international language has always existed. In the past, it was concerning religion and intellectual debate. Members of the church and government wanted to establish power and influence through their writing, and for that to be possible, they needed a consistent way of presenting their thoughts on paper.

Back then, English was already making its way around the world due to the expanse of the British Isles and all its soldiers, sailors, pilgrims, traders and missionaries. As a result, English ultimately emerged as the language to fill this void and has risen to world domination ever since.

Centuries later, the need of a standardised form of writing that is instantly comprehensible remains pertinent. Today, it’s about international business, the arts, culture, and the general way of life in a truly global society.

How does this relate to today’s business market? Over the past decades, there’s been an evident shift from multilingualism to a global language of business. Multilingualism proved inefficient in establishing meaningful interactions when working with customers and partners worldwide. There’s no questions that success in a global society hinges on a global language. Whether it’s about closing sales, persuading people or leading your employees, proficiency in English will be one of your greatest assets as an applicant.

English is invariably the underlying factor in any study or survey exploring the essential 21st century skills sought after by business leaders. In a 2018 survey of 2,000 business leaders carried out by LinkedIn, English was the at the core of the top three skills companies were looking for: leadership, communication and collaboration.

Similar trends are visible in the local landscape. Data collected from a 2016 survey conducted by NHFHE and JobsPlus reported that the skills most looked-for by employers (oral communication skills, team-working skills, English language skills and customer handling skills) are simultaneous the most lacking in candidates.

As startling as it may seem with English our second language, English skills are clearly on the decline at a time when they are most desirable for employers. Somewhere along the way, our educational system’s approach to English has failed. It’s also worth noting that fluency in English does not always equate to excelling at business English. Better yet, written examinations do not test for the ability to practically use the language in day-to-day work tasks.

Non-native speakers who enrol in Universities abroad are required to sit for IELTS examinations, a rigours qualification that demands flawless use of academic English across all skills and systems of the language. Effectively, this implies that non-native English speakers starting out an English-speaking university have already obtained qualifications which surpass the standards of University entry-requirements for Maltese nationals.

Ready or not, applicants are joining local and international companies expected to communicate, collaborate and contribute using English in a meaningful and effective manner.

When the required language skills are not there, performance suffers. As an employee you’ll hold back from participating in group settings, delivering presentation or running meetings.  Eventually you’ll find that this diminished ability to contribute leads to lack of progression within your role.

If you want to improve your communication skills or collaborate on global scales, English will undoubtedly be at the foundation of that training.

“Over the past 20 years, we’ve welcomed Business clients from all corners of the world who travel to improve their business English skills specific to their role”, Rebecca Bonnici, managing director at BELS (Business English Language School) said.

“In the past few years, we’ve had a number of expats come to us to better their employment prospects in Malta and even more recently, a substantial amount of Maltese nationals doing the same”.

The corporate Business English courses aim to overcome the gap between the current skill-set and the expected performance by targeting the specific skills that are lacking depending on the specific industry, role and day-to-day duties.