We often talk of the benefits language skills can bring to the workplace; they allow businesses to build stronger relationships with clients and partners, and to trade with more countries, for example. But a recent report has indicated that having languages skills has financial rewards for employees, too. So there’s an even greater incentive for young people to continue with languages at GCSE level and beyond.

The findings come from a report by the Higher Education Funding Council for England on graduates and their early careers. It shows that that the mean salary of language graduates 3.5 years after graduation is £26,823, ahead of that of graduates of Engineering, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and Astronomy and Chemistry.

The report comes at a time when language skills are becoming increasingly valued in the business world, with 74 per cent of UK employers specifying that they are looking for conversational language skills when they recruit new staff. It’s crucial that young people are made aware of this message as early on as possible, and understand the benefits that languages could bring them in their professional life.