EUROPEAN FEEDING FRENZY FOR ASIAN AND EMERGING MARKET LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Wednesday, 23 August 2006

EUROPEAN FEEDING FRENZY FOR ASIAN AND EMERGING MARKET LANGUAGE SKILLS
Big upsurge in Highly Skilled Migrant Programme usage

A major European shortage of Asian and emerging market language skills such as those associated with India, China and Russia is leading to a war for talent amongst some of the major financial institutions and exchanges.

“Many of the candidates with those sorts of language skills, particularly in the asset management sector, tend to be nationals with perfect English as a second language”, says Heidi Collins, manager of the Financial Services Division with Euro London Appointments. “ The level of technical understanding needed within the hedge fund sector for example demands a bilingual speaker at the very least and more often than not a national. For the London market this has meant that the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme – a government scheme that allows migrant workers to live and work in the UK without an employer needing to sponsor a visa - has been vital.”

“Additionally, as many MBA programmes now come with an automatic HSMP visa, UK employers are increasingly looking at overseas MBA graduates as a source of new talent.

So why the feeding frenzy? “ As there are more and more restrictions on listing on US exchanges, many companies are opting for the European option as an alternative. Consequently some of the major exchanges are now promoting themselves in new markets leading to the need for Business Development Managers with languages such as Russian, Mandarin and Cantonese.”

The other major driving force behind this upsurge in language need is the gradual emergence of domestic investor bases in Asia. “Asian investors are very sophisticated”, says Collins “and demand not just quality but also effective communication. Speaking to them in their own language therefore, is absolutely vital – not because they can’t speak English – but that they may prefer not to. A lack of language skills can be seen to go hand in hand with ignorance at a cultural level. To counter this both UK and US firms are investing in an Asian “face” – New York based investment advisor Drake Management for example has a bi-lingual Japanese/English website with Chinese and Korean languages due to be added this year.”

So what about specifics? The gradual process of transition of China from a market that focused mainly on attracting foreign investment to one that is also encouraging domestic customers to invest abroad is driving the recent heavy demand for languages such as Mandarin and Cantonese.

India has been seen for many years as a sleeping giant is now a vibrant and up and coming market – with government debt falling and foreign exchange reserves rising, the demographics are looking good. “Interestingly one of our recent candidates who had recently relocated to the UK from India has just completed a project commissioned by a ratings agency for a report on hedge funds in emerging markets. The report had to be produced in both English and Hindi suggesting the emergence of a defined domestic investor base in the country” adds Collins.

“And lets not forget Russia – a country that has seen a remarkable return to fortune since the economic collapse of the late nineties. According to recent economic reports, the middle class in Russia is predicted to grow from today’s 20% to 60% of the population by 2015. A prediction not ignored by investment banks such as Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs who have all set up local operations leading to a need for Russian speakers.”

The challenge is clear – we live in a shrinking world where being able to understand the needs aims and motivations of a customer base that spans the globe is vital. And that means that languages and intercultural skills – and the demand for mother tongue level ability - will continue to grow in importance.

For more information please contact:

Tracey dunn
Bluesky PR
Tel: 0845 3700125

This press release was distributed via SourceWire, a service from Daryl Willcox Publishing, on behalf of BlueSky Public Relations Ltd (Previously: TMD Communications). For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/pressreleasewires