PATRONS

Build language skills and build connections

Today the importance of intercultural and language skills for social, political and economic development is widely recognised. It’s perhaps less well known, however, that English skills and the ability to create, maintain and develop business exchanges are enhanced by the exposure to other cultures and by the knowledge of at least one other language. Dr Marion Krauthaker Coombes (pictured), senior lecturer in modern languages at De Montfort University (DMU), explains why.

Research shows that language education, even limited to basic levels, is proven to increase cognitive skills and generate more confident, open-minded and adaptable individuals who can respond more efficiently, adapt to challenges and work more flexibly around complex situations.

When it comes to recruitment, in a variety of sectors, businesses are wise to this fact and often favour candidates with languages skills. The Higher Education Statistics Agency consistently shows that language graduates have one of the lowest unemployment rates, are on average 10% to 15% better paid and have more varied career options.

In the UK, the need for multilingual communication, especially for businesses, has been dramatically accelerated by the reconfigurations required for a post-Brexit society and market, as well as the challenges from the 2020 health crisis.

A recent joint statement by five prestigious academies worldwide –including the British Academy –confirmed that clear communication across borders is paramount to the health and security of every nation during a global health crisis. More than ever, diplomatic, political, educational and business bodies must have the tools to interact and communicate in real-time through the help of new technologies.

UK LAGS BEHIND IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS

In the UK, however, the issues of a lack of available foreign languages speakers has been increasing for years and is making the country more vulnerable. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills already warned businesses in 2013 that close to £50bn is lost to the economy every year due to lacking language skills.

To improve the situation, two areas appear as key – the national education system and migration. The former needs to produce more bilingual graduates, while the latter has the capacity to attract more speakers of other languages. However, latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures confirm that in the Brexit context, migration is now at its lowest in years.

While the young generation of pupils and students may benefit from refocused policies and programmes making language a part of every future citizen and worker’s education, the current workforce remains in dire need for professional development in this area.

So, what can businesses do here and now to meet the multilingual needs of the 21st Century market?

FOREIGN LANGUAGE MEDIA AND BOOTCAMPS CAN BE FIRST STEPS

Businesses that may not have prioritised languages as part of their past recruitment strategies still have options. Companies already working with overseas clients, or looking to enter new global markets while navigating the ongoing obstacles generated by Brexit and Covid-19, can find ways to reintroduce learning opportunities for their employees who have some language background.

Here are some top tips for employees to improve business language skills in a relaxed way: • Watch your favourite shows and movies dubbed in a foreign language to improve your general language skills • Find business-oriented foreign documentaries and programmes with subtitles to increase your specialist vocabulary and comprehension skills • Read foreign newspapers, magazines, articles, blogs or social media content every day to develop your linguistic and cultural knowledge • Create real-life opportunities to practice inside or outside the workplace – for example, organise foreign languages lunches with colleagues and find a language exchange buddy • Ask your employer to plan a customised language bootcamp for you and your colleagues via a reliable language provider.

At DMU, our highly trained language specialists also offer bespoke business language courses to support employers and employees in developing their skills and gaining confidence in doing business here or abroad.

University designs non-electric ventilator

A team of engineers at Loughborough University has designed and built a unique low-cost, non-electric ventilator in response to the pandemic.

The ShiVent system was created to allow nonspecialised workers to treat patients with coronavirus.

The team, featuring Yusuf Bilesanmi, Ricardo Nascimento, Dr Yusuf Shittu, Gaurav Nanajkar and Pawel Nycz, designed the ventilator with four key features: • Simple to use – by the average health worker and takes only 30 minutes of training • Low-cost – can be produced at a very small fraction of the price of the average ventilator • Non-electric – making it suitable for hospital settings with unreliable power • Oxygen-efficient – requiring almost as little as a third of the average oxygen consumption of High

Flow Oxygen systems

After successful tests in hospitals, a shipment of five ShiVent units were sent last month to Lagos, Nigeria, with more heading for Pune, India, soon for further trials.

The plan willthen be to roll out the system in subSaharan Africa, Asia and potentially South America.

Yusuf, a Nigerian who enrolled for his PhD at Loughborough in 2019, said: “ShiVent is designed for under-resourced areas where mechanical ventilators are scarce and expensive, with unreliable electricity supply and limited specialist knowledge.”

Industry can’t take off without clarity

Simplicity and clarity are crucial if the travel industry is to begin its recovery this year, believes East Midlands Airport (EMA).

International leisure travel from the UK may resume on 17 May, with a “traffic light” system that assigns red, amber or green to every overseas country mooted to combat coronavirus variants from being imported.

But with a negative PCR test likely to be among the requirements for many countries and expensive hotel quarantines for others, there are concerns this could turn away many potential holidaymakers.

EMA head of media Ioan ReedAspley said: “The point we’ve made consistently throughout the pandemic is we need clarity from Government about what we can expect. For consumer confidence to return, people need reassurance

Planes remain grounded at East Midlands Airport

that when they travel to a country, the requirements won’t suddenly change to mean they’ll need to quarantine for long periods when they return, or that expensive tests will be required.

“It needs to be as simple and cheap as possible. The ultimate goal is to get to as many destinations as possible that are restriction-free.”

The Government’s international travel framework announced in April, which featured the traffic light system, didn’t include a category for restriction-free travel –something the airport said “represents a backward step from the travel corridors in place last year”.

“Building strong partnerships with foreign countries and sharing data about variants of concern is key to removing the need for testing on return, and should be the Government’s primary focus,” added Ioan.

In a typical year, EMA welcomes 4.5 million passengers but numbers were down by more than 90% last year. Yet the aviation industry hasn’t received any tailored financial support from the Government, with the only help coming in the form of business rates relief and the Job Retention Scheme.

“Our main income streams have been turned off like a tap,” said Ioan. “It’s going to take three or four years for the aviation sector to get back to pre-Covid levels.”

Dr Nik named on Power List 2021

The chairman of a Leicestershire pharmaceuticals business has been selected as one of 60 international leaders and innovators in a top industry influencer list.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, founder of medicines manufacturer and supplier Morningside Pharmaceuticals, which based in Loughborough, has made The Medicine Maker magazine’s Power List 2021.

It celebrates the success stories of the best and brightest individuals in three distinct categories including small molecules, biopharmaceuticals and advanced medicine.

Dr Kotecha features in the small molecules category alongside senior executives from global drugs companies, as well as a number of esteemed academics from some of the world’s leading research-focused universities.

Dr Kotecha, a Department for International Trade “export champion” who is also chair of trustees for the Randal Charitable Foundation, said: “It’s a real honour to be included in the Power List 2021 alongside so many great and inspirational minds who have contributed so much to the development and manufacture of new and existing medicinal products.”

The magazine’s editor Stephanie Sutton said everyone on the list “is playing a key role in moving us all towards a healthier world, from developing ground-breaking new treatments to devising new manufacturing strategies”.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE

THE CHAMBER IS HONOURED BY THE SUPPORT OF ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS