The World’s Your Oyster

What would you tell teenage girls – preparing to take the first set of public exams that could dictate the trajectories of their lives – about the world of work?

I recently participated in a careers day at one of the UK’s last remaining grammar schools. I do it as a favour for a friend who works there.

There was a particular slant on the careers day – it was all about languages – and how they are an important part of your skills portfolio.

I was paired up with a French engineer and we had to demonstrate how foreign languages had affected our careers. Were they essential? A waste of time? Or, a nice-to-have note on the Additional Skills section of the CV?

Although the engineer and I work in completely different environments, it was soon clear that we were giving the students the same message. When we started out, as fresh-faced graduates, the workplace was competitive but with the languages feather tucked firmly in our caps, we definitely had some sort of advantage. The City was the exception; being multi-lingual was seen as perfectly normal and therefore nothing special.

By the time these girls are ready to work, full-time, they will be competing with an even more diverse workforce. They will be competing against international candidates for whom English is not their first language and they will also be fluent in several other languages. (I'm too depressed to comment on how this government has been responsible for an appalling decline in the teaching of languages in state education.)

Although the day’s theme was languages, I wanted to leave the girls with positive messages about their future. I wish this interview , with author-turned-MP-in-waiting, Louise Bagshawe, had been published earlier. My parting words would have been hers:

… "never allow your self-worth to be caught up in your job, because you can always be sacked from your job, but you yourself remain."

Of course, I’m not sure teenagers would have the confidence and self-belief to appreciate just what an important message this is. But I would have said it nonetheless.