Proficiency in Communication

1010 Words3 Pages

Proficiency in both verbal and written English is paramount to being a successful contributor to the Canadian labour market. In the new information age, where more and more communication is delivered through electronic means, there is an even more profound need for clear communication, as misinterpretation and lack of tone in emails lead to business inefficiency and conflict. These problems are optically more apparent when investigating the skilled immigrant labour pool within Canada. Our current education system and the acceptance of below standard median proficiency tests cause a further “acceptable” degradation of one’s ability to articulate and communicate in an interesting and engaging way. There are many ways to improve the plight of the deficient communicator and most of this revolves around training or retraining. The twenty first century has seen the information age and the concept of globalization shift into hyper drive. Although English is predominately the language of choice in international forums, not so much due to the sheer number of English people, but due to the growth and need for a lingua franca, or bridging language. The majority of English language growth in the world is as a second language and therefore, this makes the need for clear and concise English communication all the more vital to both employees and employers.

Canada accepted 280,636 immigrant and refugees in to this great nation in 2010 alone (Citizenship) and there seems to be no desire to decrease this annual goal in the foreseeable future. There is a lot to be gained from this high level of immigration, most notably the skilled immigrant labour pool, but often they do not see their skills properly utilized in many case, due to lan...

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...cess as perceived language barrier would not be suspected or perceived.

In the majority of Canada, especially west of Ontario, being skilled in the art of conversing in both written and verbal English is a must for success in the labour market. Competition is tough and the required skill level on job postings continues to rise. Employers strive to gain employees with the most potential to assist in the accomplishment of success, be it within the work cell, the department, branch, or the corporation. Failure to accomplish an acceptable level of English talent will lead to a life not fully realized, with lower paying jobs and continuous underemployment. The ability of the potential employee to master this English skill will turn to greater prosperity for that person, and allow them to blossom into a great contributor to the economy of Canada and the world.

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