Language Skills: Is Reactive Training Enough?

Abstract

If business people are to have the language skills to compete in the Single European Market, these must be taught in further and higher education, along with business and technical skills. The current moves, now strongly supported by several EC initiatives, towards such a proactive policy which will enable the business community to recruit from a growing pool of students in all disciplines, with good language skills are explored. Selected employees must be given access to full‐time language training and there must be partnership between business and education in the design and provision of a linguistic infrastructure for trading in the SEM.