Countries where English is spoken.
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In a country with four national languages, multilingualism is also important in the world of work. This is particularly evident in the fact that 43% of all employees in Switzerland regularly use a foreign language at their workplace at least once a week. In fact, 23% of people in employment use more than one language every day. These were the findings of the Federal Statistical Office FSO's survey on "Languages at work - analysis of data from the 2014 survey on language, religion and culture". Managers in particular, but also commercial employees, people in technical professions and scientists regularly use more than one language.
However, not everyone who needs a foreign language in their everyday working life has spoken it since school, but has to acquire the necessary language skills independently in (young) adulthood. People who need to know English for their job or want to be well prepared for a change of job therefore often attend an English course adapted to their existing language level, which fills in the gaps in their knowledge or builds it up from scratch. Business English courses are also in demand and are frequently searched for in search engines every month. However, up to tens of thousands of people in Switzerland who are interested in learning English in general search online every month, which illustrates the great interest in further education measures in this area and shows how important this topic is for many people.
Finding a suitable English course and improving your English skills is an essential step in your career planning, especially for young professionals who want to develop professionally. In recent years, online English learning has also become increasingly popular and in demand, as have English apps that can be used to learn and consolidate English vocabulary anytime and anywhere. A language study trip to learn English is also very popular, especially with many young Swiss people, although the target group for such language trips has expanded considerably in recent years and is also attracting more and more business people and the 50+ generation. However, the main focus of language enthusiasts is still on the well-known English courses at language schools here in Switzerland.
Looking at Switzerland as a whole, German and Swiss German are used the most in everyday working life, by 68% and 60% of employees respectively. At 36%, French is also very important, closely followed by English at 32%. English is therefore the most frequently used non-national language in Switzerland, which is hardly surprising. If we focus exclusively on the German-speaking area, English even ranks third among the languages regularly used in the workplace, as it does in Ticino. English is even the second most used language in French-speaking Switzerland, ahead of German.
If you take a closer look at the job advertisements on the Swiss job market, it becomes clear that not only good to very good knowledge of German is required from job seekers, but also increasingly good and very good knowledge of English. If you look at the results of the above-mentioned study, this is by no means surprising, but clearly shows how the importance of English has also increased here in Switzerland in the course of globalization, and with it the importance of English courses. Whether in banking and insurance, in chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, in purchasing, trade and logistics, in mechanical and plant engineering, telecommunications, IT, internal or customer service, English language skills are required across all sectors, if of course more in some than in others. English is particularly indispensable in the IT sector, the mechanical engineering industry, the financial sector, the pharmaceutical, chemical and medtech sectors, but is of little importance in the skilled trades or agriculture.
Those who did not learn English at school or university are increasingly opting for targeted language training in this area, attending English courses at selected language schools, having their English skills certified with a language diploma or going abroad for a few weeks or months to study English. But is all this effort and an English course really worth it? Are the jobs that you can only apply for with good English skills actually better paid? And can you really expect to be paid more at your current job if you improve your language skills?
Yes, says Professor Grin from the University of Geneva, who examined the financial advantage of foreign language skills in a study. It showed that in German-speaking Switzerland, people who speak English well to very well receive up to 25% more pay than those who have little or no knowledge of English. However, it should of course be noted that this does not mean that employees who have improved their English skills in a basic English course and can now communicate confidently in this foreign language will automatically receive a pay rise. This assumption cannot realistically hold up, as an employer does not always benefit from the newly acquired skills. Anyone who rarely needs English for their current position will not suddenly receive a 20% pay rise, even if they have excellent language skills, but their chances of being perceived more positively by the company and being promoted more quickly will increase. This is because learning a foreign language or specifically improving language skills in an English course or through another language learning model demonstrates willpower, perseverance and commitment, which makes employees more attractive for many higher positions in particular, where knowledge of English is often subsequently required.
Language skills can be developed and improved in many different ways, depending on the time available, motivation, budget and objectives. More and more young people in particular are spending a longer period of time abroad after graduating from high school, completing their apprenticeship or studying in order to improve their foreign language skills for the job market and increase their chances of getting the job they want. However, language acquisition is also becoming increasingly important for people who already have both feet firmly on the career ladder, which is why many professionals are opting for weekly language courses at language schools and educational institutions in their area or for an English course based on the blended learning model. This learning model combines traditional language lessons with computer-based learning and access to the school's own learning platforms. In contrast to learning English via language apps or online language courses, these two options offer the advantage that face-to-face lessons take place at regularly scheduled times in the English course, you come into contact with other language learners and oral communication in English is promoted to a far greater extent than is currently possible online or with an app. Especially for people who find it difficult to motivate themselves over a longer period of time and take responsibility for their own learning, the traditional English course is still usually the most beneficial option.
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