The University of Ulster is helping top businesses compete at an international level with the launch of two new language courses in Chinese and French.
Designed for people who need language skills for professional purposes these innovative programmes will give businesses an edge in an increasingly challenging global market.
After English, Chinese and French are ranked by Bloomberg as the top two languages used for business worldwide.
Dr David Barr, head of the School of Modern Languages at the University of Ulster said: “Being able to speak more than one language is critical in today’s global business market.”
“Each year, 60 per cent of UK trade takes place with non-English speaking countries and crucially, business deals can be won or lost on the ability to communicate in a range of languages. In the current economic climate, the need for businesses to communicate in other languages is more important than ever.
“Speaking the language of the country that you are doing business with will be viewed as a sign of respect and has the potential to open doors in the future”
“Major employers in Northern Ireland including Moy Park, Michelin, Bombardier and Wrightbus have already enrolled key personnel on to our new language courses which will begin later this month.”
Both language courses will be delivered at University of Ulster’s Belfast campus and will also be taught in-house for larger groups
On completion of the course students will be able to take the French Embassy exam or the Chinese official proficiency exam, both of which are internationally recognised qualifications.
In September 2011 Northern Ireland’s first Confucius Institute was established at Ulster (CINIU), which enabled the university to significantly expand its Chinese language and cultural teaching.
Like the 385 other Confucius Institutes operating in universities in 150 countries worldwide, CINIU encourages private and public sector companies and organisations who want to trade with China to study the language, the business culture and its customs to gain a competitive edge.
For further information on the University of Ulster’s Chinese or French for Business courses email Lorraine Lavery-Bowen at: l.lavery-bowen@ulster.ac.uk or phone 028 90366695.