HSBC -
John Cabot Technology College
Work experience placements have already been organised at HSBC for a number of John Cabot Technology College students. Philip Spencer, Divisional Manager, International Trade Services talked to the students on a visit to the school in April about the company's attitude towards language and culture.
Competitive edge
Philip Spencer explained his reason for getting involved in the initiative: 'We are delighted to be taking part in the Business Language Champions scheme. It is a community activity and we believe we have a corporate responsibility, both local and globally, to support projects such as this.
“It is important to raise the awareness of the need for business language and cultural business awareness. Talking to people in other countries and learning about their business culture will be beneficial to the students. It will make them more enlightened and will enable to them to ask more challenging questions in the future as they continue their studies.'
Linda Bridgeman, Second in International Studies at John Cabot Technology College described the value that the students got from the presentation: 'The Business Language Champions initiative is a great concept because it gives students the opportunity to take languages beyond the classroom and see how they are relevant in the workplace.
“In a working environment it is important that students acquire the skills they need to put themselves ahead of the field – languages can do just that but giving students the competitive edge against other candidates when they enter the world of work. So many businesses nowadays operate on a global scale that language skills are becoming more and more important to UK businesses and it is great that businesses like HSBC are giving up some of their time to help spread the message in schools about the value of learning languages.'
The students will be making a return visit in May.
