The world of work continues to evolve fast. As technology reshapes entire industries, the gap between the skills employees have and the ones they need is widening. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, skills gaps are one of the biggest barriers to business transformation over the next five years.
There is good news, though. The same report found that soft skills will continue to be in demand. It also concluded that most employers plan to invest in developing their employees’ skills by 2030.
We’re encouraged by this as it presents an opportunity for language proficiency to be seen as a core workplace skill.
Why language skills matter in upskilling
Language reaches into every part of a business – from team meetings and client presentations to employee training and strategic planning. Given this central role, it’s clear to see why language proficiency is an essential part of workplace learning and development (L&D).
Whether you’re an employee, manager or part of an L&D team, consider these workplace scenarios and how language and communication shape the outcome:
- Creative thinking: You introduce innovation workshops to foster creativity in the workplace, but people hold back. Not because they lack ideas, but because they’re worried about saying something ‘wrong’.
Cross-functional collaboration: You launch a new project with international teams to encourage employees to share knowledge and learn from each other’s expertise. Communication barriers prevent effective knowledge exchange and reduce the impact of collaboration.
- Mentoring and motivation: You’ve trained a senior team member in coaching skills for workplace mentoring. Both the mentor and mentee become frustrated due to language limitations that create miscommunication during conversations.
Manager development: You’re investing in the next generation of leaders within your organisation. One of your most promising managers shows strong potential, but struggles to communicate clearly and confidently across international teams.
It’s easy to view these scenarios as challenges. We see them as opportunities – opportunities to develop and grow through strategic language training. And while communication and language skills may not be the only factors in successful upskilling, without them, even the best learning and development plans may struggle to achieve their goals.
A note from Your London Tutor
Our award-winning team of language training experts works with individuals and companies to create customised business English programmes to support workplace learning and development strategies. Email us at contact@yourlondontutor.com to discuss how we can support you and your team.
