Getting to grips with languages of the BRIC nations, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, could benefit graduates looking for work.

This is an assertion made by Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) public policy director Gerwyn Davies, who said that learning to speak the tongues of emerging nations can provide individuals with an advantage in the labor market.

According to the UK specialist, rising mergers and acquisitions activity increasingly requires one of the BRIC languages and speaking any of these "will give you that edge over other candidates, who perhaps have the same skills as you, but perhaps not the same range of skills".

His remarks follow the news that the UK government has formed a new pact with China that will see around 1,000 new Chinese language teachers trained to operate in England's secondary schools, providing young people with the opportunity to learn Mandarin.

It was launched by education secretary Michael Gove as part of a UK delegation of politicians and business leaders to China.

Posted by Sarah Dixon