International communication skills are good for you: recent research suggests being able to speak a second language is worth £145,000 to an individual - and it can even make you lucky in love! Confirmation that a language skill is good news for individuals comes as businesses in the North-East recognise that good international communication skills are the key to export success - and increasingly are doing something about it. The finding that companies nationwide were ready a pay an average annual premium to staff with language skills of £3,000 (amounting to £145,000 over a lifetime) comes from research by Philip Beresford, creator of The Sunday Times Rich List. He also found the national trends mirrored in the North-East, with managers "much more likely" to hire someone with language skills ahead of monolingual candidates and to pay them more. Dating agencies also reported that foreign language speakers were seen as more attractive and intelligent by prospective partners. All of which sits very comfortably with feedback from business to the Regional Language Network North East, according to Zélie Guérin, its manager. The Network has seen steady growth in its influence across the region since it was established by One NorthEast and CILT, the National Centre for Languages, almost three years ago. That was in the wake of an audit that showed one in four North-East businesses were losing sales abroad because of poor international communication skills. "We have now reached a critical mass in terms not only of the number of businesses with which we are actively engaged, but also in the extent to which our core message is endorsed by influential bodies and `movers and shakers' in the region." Key statistics demonstrate the extent to which the "international communications skills are good for your bottom line" message is getting across: * More than 500 North-East businesses participating in the Network; * Some 400 face-to-face meetings with companies interested in developing better international communication skills; * More than 400 delegates and high profile speakers attending business events in all four sub-regions (Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham, and Tees Valley); * 100 small and medium-size businesses expressing interest in taking advantage of European Regional Development Funding (secured earlier this year by the Network in partnership with Regional International Trade Services) to assist with language and cultural awareness coaching, as well as translation and website localisation; * More than 30 businesses already receiving grant assistance since April. In addition, the Network has helped the drive for common approved standards among language professionals in the region through the BLIS Professionals online database and has doubled the number of registered providers in the region to more than 50. More than 100 candidates with language skills are registered at any one time on the associated BLIS Jobs site, with employers in the region regularly posting vacancies on the site. "We've also worked with our various stakeholders and other organisations at the heart of the region's strategy to ensure international communication skills are firmly on their agendas," says Zélie. Among organisations endorsing the RLN's aims are the North East Chamber of Commerce and the regional Confederation of British Industry, while the Network has ensured that the importance of international communication skills development in business is firmly embedded in the Regional Economic Strategy. The Network is also a partner in the Framework for Regional Skills and Employment, which emphasises the need for international communication skills in the enlarged Europe. The Network also works closely with UK Trade and Investment in the region to ensure the services each provides are complementary. The Network has also campaigned, through its German Wave, to promote positive images of our key European trading partner and to address a crisis in German skills in the region. This culminated recently in support for Kinofest, a season of German film at the Tyneside Cinema and the Arc, Stockton. All this activity helped secure the accolade of being named top performer of all such Networks in the UK, by CILT, the National Centre for Languages, and the RLN North East has now been adopted as a model by the Regional Language Network in the South West. While the Network can claim good progress in getting the international communication message across, one of the delights of the past three years has been discovering shining beacons of good practice across the region, many of which are featured on the RLN's website. Among them is stairlift manufacturer Bison Bede, of Consett, which is looking to build on the success of its French and German website translations to expand into Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Danish and Swedish. Elsewhere, The MKW Group, of Ryton, Gateshead, and Sunderland-based Regional Technology Centre North received an EU European Award for Languages in recognition of the "exceptional" International Journeyman project, under which apprentices undertake a two-year engineering apprenticeship with Les Compagnons du Devoir, a French-based training organisation. They return not only with a skill in engineering, but also fluency in French, giving them a keen edge in the jobs market. Zélie sums up: "Our progress in getting the international communication message across, coupled with the great work being done by many businesses, means that we can look forward with some optimism that reports of our businesses missing out on exports because they lack such skills will become increasingly rare." * The Michel Thomas Language Report, by Philip Beresford, included a survey of 2,700 companies and 270 dating agencies. * You can contact the Network on 0191-229 6347 or visit its website, which also features the various BLIS services, at | 
