Demand for professionals with language skills is growing, it has been suggested.

Research for Rosetta Stone discovered that 80 per cent of senior and upper-level managers believe that learning other tongues is important for both internal and external communication.

According to the language training specialist, 63 per cent of those questioned stated that such skills helped to boost productivity and collaboration within their organization.

The poll of 493 employers also found that other reasons given for workers having language skills included enhancing customer satisfaction and retention, expanding into new markets and relocating overseas.

"It is clear that language barriers are presenting a major challenge in today's globalized world," remarked Rosetta Stone managing director Sylke Riester.

Those with language skills may be interested in relocating to one of the European Union member states that are seeing employment levels rise, with recent figures from Eurostat showing the lowest levels of joblessness during July 2011 were found in Austria (3.7 per cent) and the Netherlands (4.3 per cent).

Posted by Alex Donnell