UK trails France and Germany in emerging markets, catching up will require improvements in speaking the local language
Vy govorite po-russki? No, thought not. If British businesses are to meet George Osborne's target of doubling exports by 2020, then an ability to swap pleasantries, nail down negotiations or even order a taxi from the airport in Russian will be helpful.
According to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce, less than 1% of business owners speak Russian or Chinese well enough to conduct transactions in those languages. And yet these markets are necessary stepping stones to reaching that £1tn target by the end of the decade.
"Addressing the gaps in commercial exporting skills – including language skills – must be a priority to support the growth of Britain's export sector," says the BCC, adding that the next generation of business leaders need to be "born global".
The UK trails France and Germany in many emerging markets and catching up will require improvements in speaking the local language.
According to the BCC survey of 8,000 companies, more than one in five businesses lack the skills, management heft and knowledge needed to tap export markets. These skills gaps all add up to a lack of competitive cutting edge in comparison with our continental peers.
But the BCC survey also points to a trade barrier far more daunting than linguistic inhibitions. When asked why they did not sell good or services abroad, more than three-quarters of the non-exporters said they did not have a suitable product. And that is a gap that cannot be bridged with a phrasebook.