Sept. 29--While Americans have the luxury of speaking English in most global business environments, local employers expect hiring bilingual employees to increasingly become muy importante.
In a survey conducted this summer by Northern Illinois University's Center for Government Studies, a third of employers said it is important to hire a recent college graduate who can communicate effectively in more than one language, and half said it will be important five years from now.
Separately, two-thirds said they will need more bilingual staff in the next three years.
Respondents overwhelmingly named Spanish the most useful language to their organizations, followed by Polish and Mandarin.
Katharina Barbe, chair of the department of foreign languages and literatures at Northern, said she was happy to see employers recognize the value of foreign languages even if their own organizations don't demand it.
"It's not that they need the foreign language, but they like students with that skill," she said. Learning a second language helps people better understand their own language, facilitates relationships when they travel, and studies have shown it is good for the brain, she said.
The findings were based on answers from 244 employers in northern Illinois who were polled online in June and July.
Ninety percent of respondents said bilingualism isn't critical to a college graduate's employment prospects, but most agreed it offers benefits, including increasing client satisfaction and retention, improving the competitiveness of the organization and engaging new suppliers and contractors.
Nonprofits were more likely than businesses to believe that hiring bilingual workers is and will be important.
aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com
