HR strategies for a multilingual workforce – Insights on the 2023 EF EPI Report
9th November 2023
The need for English is stronger than ever, but the gender and age gaps are widening.
The need for English remains in a BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible) world
Our English Proficiency Index 2023 draws on tests taken by 2.2 million people in 113 countries and shows that English Language learning remains a constant need in a BANI world. Far from suggesting that AI and automatic translation will replace the need for language learning, this year’s report shows that individuals and companies alike are recognizing the need for English as a fundamental asset to build the confidence to express oneself, to communicate and to collaborate – all essential skills to release diversity of insight, build stronger relationships, better connections and be able to thrive in a context of perpetual change.
Some alarming trends are emerging
While English is more in demand than ever, there are big trends emerging from our 12 years of EPI data that should give HR and L&D leaders cause to pause and react.
The gender gap is widening
Once a real strength and competitive advantage in the workplace, women’s English proficiency has been steadily declining for the past three years, and falling behind men’s.
There’s the suspicion that in some parts of the world women are being denied the fundamental right of access to education.
As a matter of fact, while the workplace would seem like an obvious culprit where women are still underrepresented, especially in more international jobs, the gender gaps in English proficiency among those aged 18-25 is three times as wide as among working adults. This seems to indicate that education systems could be more at fault. The Middle East is the only region that has managed to reverse this trend, but it remains most marked in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
Whether this means girls are focusing on other subjects at schools or that boys are benefitting from better support and access to digital opportunities remain open questions.
Young people’s English is declining
The second worrying trend is the decline in younger adults’ English level. This suggests that schools aren’t offering sufficient language training, so it falls on universities and the workplace to close the gap. This trend is clearly shown below where the language levels are generally higher in older groups (21-40) than in younger ones (18-20). That gap has grown even more markedly since 2000 where the highest English levels are seen in the groups from 31 years old upwards.
While the drop in the 18-20 age range has slowed, the huge difference in global level by age is startling. This can be partly explained by a lack of curricular time and resources on language learning in schools, but also by the effect of learning loss from the COVID years.
If we consider the two large trends together, meaning that we mostly see an increase in language level in the post-school years and yet women’s English proficiency at any age is still declining, it would imply that the workplace is less equitable in access to learning for women than schools are. That is a big warning sign and something that should be explored by the HR community. Is access to language training limited for women? Or is it that they not afforded the necessary time to focus on language learning at work, given that they can’t do it in their personal time as they still bear, on average, a lot more of the burden of childcare and household work?
English proficiency levels for junior staff still lagging behind those of executives and managers
Looking into industry-specific trends, we can see that Europe and Africa are the only regions where junior staff have stronger English than managers and executives. Asia is very much the opposite. This has obvious D&I implications: a lack of language ability in junior employees can create a glass ceiling. In other words, potential change-makers may not have a good enough level of English to be included in the conversation.
Our recommendations for the HR & LD community to remedy to those trends
1. Address the language skills gap in younger employees
In a globally connected world driven by English language communication, workplace learning is needed to build on language skills. As it seems to be increasingly difficult to hire young people with the right level of English, organizations need to include this in their upskilling agenda.
2. Ensure equality of access to language learning
As there is a clear imbalance in language skills between men and women, it is essential to ensure that women have equal access to a workplace-based training, and are afforded the necessary time to commit to it. This is a huge untapped potential to operate effectively, to innovate, and to lead.
3. Move beyond seeing language learning as a perk for those in senior management and consider its potential for inclusion and driving change from within
The first step to this is assessing who can benefit from what level of language use, by testing across the workforce and identifying gaps. These gaps are opportunities: consider who can add to your corporate agility and start training by function, not seniority. Failure to do this will prevent you from creating an idea-rich speak-up culture and will limit employee mobility in the short-term.
4. Encourage your workforce to reach beyond their LMS for language training
Where language training is seen to be most successful is when it’s not simply about textbook or platform learning but when it’s also put into practice. You should ensure that your training investment does not just equip employees with a small amount of English as a knowledge-base but that it also builds active skills to use that language. This requires differentiating your workforce by level and interest and engaging them with interactive tasks that promote real-world communication.
5. Explore ways in which your organization can play a role in increasing access to education worldwide
Industry and social enterprise should continue to explore innovative ways to fund language learning, reach those who can most benefit and drive countries’ economies forward. A successful example of this is the three-way partnership between EF Corporate Learning, the Rwanda Development Board and the Mastercard Foundation, delivering a nationwide English communication and hospitality skills training in Rwanda.
Author
Dr. David Bish
Dr David Bish is an educator with over 30 year’s experience as a university lecturer, teacher, teacher trainer, director of studies and materials writer. His research interests focus on the intersection between language teaching and technology, particularly leveraging mobile devices in language learning. David has worked at EF for 20 years developing teaching materials, software and testing and training programmes. A passionate Edtech speaker, David is a regular presenter at international conferences such as IATEFL, EUROCALL and TEDx, while his work has twice made the finals of the British Council ELTONs awards for innovation in teaching.
