- German skills are highly sought after in the workplace: German is the most useful foreign language in the view of UK employers (CBI, 2019) and the most in-demand additional language in UK job ads (University of Portsmouth, 2022). It is also the second highest paid of all additional languages in the UK (Preply, 2024). Employers look for candidates with knowledge of German to work in management, sales, technology, engineering, marketing, recruitment, finance, insurance and many other fields (CityLit, 2024). Very few graduates go into the “traditional” linguistic careers of interpreting, translating or teaching.
- Employers prize the skills of analysis, communication and critical thinking developed by linguists – quite apart from their linguistic skills. They also value the insights into other cultures which linguists possess.
- German can be studied in combination with over 60 non-linguistic subjects at degree level, as well as with other languages. Combined university degrees range from Accountancy and German (University of Aberdeen) to Zoology with German (University of Manchester), but also include sciences, business, law, economics, humanities and creative subjects.
- Universities look for A-level languages in candidates for all subjects with foreign languages, so that they can take part in undergraduate exchange programmes; many of these are with German universities. Language degrees involve a year abroad as part of the course – which means that you will automatically have on your CV a year’s experience with a multi-national company.
- Gaining a university place is easier with German, including for combined degrees. Due to the smaller numbers of applicants with German skills, they are more likely to be successful with their first choice, including at the UK’s top universities.
- There is a huge shortage of Brits who speak German: less than 6% of all GCSE entries in the UK are in a modern language, and only 0.6% are in German. At A level, this drops to less than 3% for all modern languages, and 0.3% for German. Yet the shortage of British linguists is reckoned to cost the UK economy 3.5% of GDP every year (Foreman-Pack & Wang, 2013) – or £94 billion in 2023. The British Chambers of Commerce have called for language learning at least to GCSE level (Youth Skills Manifesto, 2024). With employer demand for languages significantly up in recent years, the CBI has highlighted that language skills are “critical to increasing the UK’s global competitiveness and to ensuring young people have the high level of cultural awareness that supports a successful career” (The Guardian, 30 January 2023).
- Germany is the UK’s second largest trading partner: the key measure of the usefulness of any language is not the total number of speakers it has, but the economic significance of the countries where it is spoken. The UK’s top 10 trading partners include not only Germany, but also Switzerland, where more than 60% of the population speak German. Trade doesn’t just happen; linguists are required to sustain it.
- Germany is the world’s third largest economy: of the world’s 100 largest companies, 13 are German or Swiss, compared with 6 French/Belgian, 3 British and 1 Spanish (Forbes, 2024). These companies are multinational, but a knowledge of German, and of the country and its people, will help to gain promotion to higher employment levels – even though this may not be mentioned in the job description. For instance, for many roles at Bentley (part of the VW Group) and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (BMW), you’ll need to know or learn at least some German. Language skills are also a key element in successfully managing international teams.
- German is the first language of 100 million people, making it the most widely spoken language in the EU ahead of French, Italian and Spanish. (For comparison, there are around 70 million native speakers of English in Europe.) German is also the second language of much of Eastern Europe.
In many respects, German is a comparatively easy language: of all the major languages, its vocabulary is the most similar to English. German easier to pronounce than French, has fewer tenses than Spanish and far easier spelling than English. It’s also spoken more slowly than any of these other languages, and its many compound words are easy to understand once you know the meaning of the basic building blocks.
German influences are everywhere in the UK: it’s not just the royal family that comes from Germany. German music (Handel, Kraftwerk), science (Einstein), inventions (printing press, car, bicycle), sports (Steffi Graf, Thomas Tuchel), traditions (Christmas tree, Easter bunny) and foods (Black Forest gateau, doner kebab) have long shaped UK life – and still do. - 2,500 German companies employ some 450,000 people in the UK. Famous German brands with a UK presence include the likes of like Adidas, Aldi, Audi, BMW, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, Haribo, Lidl, Mercedes, Persil, Porsche, Siemens or Volkswagen. However, business connections between the UK and Germany extend well beyond these high-profile names and include UK companies with interests or subsidiaries in Germany. For instance, Rolls-Royce Holdings has a German subsidiary making aircraft engines, and BP operates Europe’s second largest refinery system in Germany.
