Employers' view on studies abroad - Svenskt Näringsliv

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Language skills and intercultural competence are <strong>view</strong>ed as less important and significantly differs
from the other skills. Particularly skills in other languages than the mother tongue and English is
deemed unimportant when recruiting. One explanation for this might be that a person who speaks
multiple languages is of little use if that person has low communicative or social skills.
Also among authorities intercultural competence and language skills place low in the ranking.
Figure 10 – How important do you consider the following personal characteristics when hiring? (Authorities)
Ambitions
58%
39%
2% 1% 1%
Analytic skills
57%
41%
2% 1%
Tolerance
45%
51%
3% 1%
Creativity
44%
50%
5% 1%
Language skills
– English
41%
47%
11%
1% 1%
Self-confidence
27%
68%
5% 1%
Intercultural competence
17%
59%
19%
1% 4%
Leadership ability
14%
55%
25%
1% 5%
Language skills
– Other languages
3%
32%
52%
12%
1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Very important Important Not so important Not important at all Don’t know
4.2.1 International skills important in larger companies
Large companies have a higher need for “international” skills. Statistics from the survey also show
that larger companies tend to conduct business internationally to a higher degree than smaller
companies. The figures below show how companies differ in their valuation of international skills.
Figures with a +/- indicator have a statistically significant and non-random deviation from the
average value for that skill.
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