Many PAs improve their marketability by learning a second language, which they hope will bring them immediate rewards in their pay packets. But does their investment work? Does linguistic ability bring concrete rewards? Boyce Recruitment, which specialises in recruiting linguists, believes it does. Caroline Buckley says, 'We've noticed an increasing demand for PAs and secretaries with language skills over the last four or five years, and many firms are willing to pay a premium for the right person. We also find that having a language opens doors into jobs which might otherwise not be available. Firms are prepared to take someone with a language, and train them in the other skills they might need, rather than expecting them to have such skills to start with. Junior secretaries can expect to progress much more quickly if they have a language, for example.'

Good command of a language such as Japanese is a valuable and rare skill, but less unusual languages can also be in demand. Caroline Buckley again - 'There's a major shortage of German at the moment. There's always been an exchange of personnel between the UK and the continent, with French and Spanish nationals working over here and English secretaries working abroad.

Pay and conditions between these countries seem to be very much the same. This is not the case with Germany, where the standard of living is higher than here and secretaries are paid proportionately more. Bilingual English secrtetaries can do very well in Germany and there's not the temptation for German nationals to travel to the UK.'

Even so, using language in a business context can be a lot different to the French or German most of us learnt at school. A linguist graduate able to read Molière, Goethe or Dante in the original language would not necessarily know engineering or banking terms, for example. Bilingual PAs joining a new company have to accept that their new role requires a steep learning curve to acquire the necessary specialist vocabulary. On the other hand many PAs feel that their language skills are generally reflected in the pay packet - although not automatically. One commented, 'I was awarded a higher salary on the basis of my linguistic skills, but I had to ask for it.'

The year 2001 is the European Year of Language (EYL), an initiative supported jointly by the Council of Europe and the European Union. Teresa Tinsley of the Centre for Information on Language Teaching (CILT) comments, 'EYL is aimed at recognising the importance of language for business and cultural communication. As part of this, languages in the workplace are obviously very important. We would encourage businesses to value the linguistic abilities of their staff.'

PAs and secretaries are often the cornerstone of successful communication between businesses and their clients. They frequently become the principal contact between their department and departments all over the world, whether dealing with customers or the overseas offices of multinational organisations. The responsibilities of multilanguage PAs and their role in establishing their firms' prestige, competence and ability to compete in a global marketplace have risen enormously. PAs and secretaries are beginning to have their linguistic skills recognised and valued but there's still a long way to go.

Adapted from Executive PA, Winter 2000/2001

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