Parlez-vous français?

After participating in a management meeting yesterday afternoon, I thought I’d set you all a little test in understanding management speak.

Exercise One:
How many of the following terms could you explain the meaning of to a colleague:

• Memorandum of Understanding
• Orientation Curriculum
• Ambassadorial Staff
• Incorporation Documents
• Ministry of the Interior
• Company Registration
• Country Representative
• Cultural Integration and Adjustment
• Non-Governmental Organisation
• Emotional Health

Award yourself one mark for each that you could explain to someone.

How did you do? Above eight and you are clearly set out for a life in the higher echelons of management.
 
Exercise Two:
Repeat Exercise One, but this time do it in French.

Still score as highly as last time?

If you are like me, your score on Exercise Two will (malheureusement) have been substantially lower than on Exercise One.

The meeting I sat in had six participants: A resident of Niger (whose native tongue is French), An American, a Cameroonian, and three Brits. Guess who were the ones who needed serious help when translating to and from French? No marks (nul points, perhaps) for correctly guessing that it was the Brits (including me, I hasten to add).

Language courses have slipped down the league tables in our school curriculum. Since 2006, there has been a 22% fall in the numbers of teenagers taking a modern foreign language at GCSE. Clearly this means that we are raising a generation of employees who will be unable to communicate in an increasingly global (and therefore multi-lingual) workforce.

Does it matter? As a German colleague of mine once remarked: if you want to buy something from a German, it’s fine that you only speak English. But if you want to sell him something, you need to speak German, and speak it well.

Just a thought: enrolment for adult education classes will be taking place over the next few weeks. French anyone?

We don't need no education ...

. . . Partly because it doesn't seem to do much for social mobility in the UK!

According to a report from the TUC published today, in Britain 50 per cent of a child's future earning potential is determined at birth, compared to less than 20 per cent in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Finland. This therefore means that the UK has the worst record on this front of any of the countries for which the the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has data, and means that the UK lags behind the US, Italy, France and Germany.

TUC: The social mobility challenge for Milburn's in-tray

Although there is a strong case for education playing an important part in transferring advantage and disadvantage from one generation to the next, the evidence shows that real improvements in social mobility will not be possible without making Britain a more equal society. The report specifically indicates that if you grow up in a better educated family, the chances are you will end up in a well-paid job, but if you're unfortunate enough to grow up in a a less-educated family, your wage levels are very likely to be significantly below average.

According to TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber

A real programme to reduce inequality and enable social mobility would need higher taxes and fewer tax loopholes for the super-rich and a more highly skilled workforce, stronger unions and higher benefits.

So it looks as if the issue of excessively high pay for the UK's top earners is here to stay!

From boardroom to classroom: but for how long?

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A combination of the recession and a campaign by the Training and Development Agency has led to a surge in applications to the teaching profession, though there is a suspicion that many may leave and return to their previous roles once the economy starts to improve.

• How could the Training and Development Agency (the UK body responsible for the recruitment and professional development of teachers) check that candidates are serious in their applications?


• What are the benefits to the teaching profession of recruiting individuals who have gained experience in industry?


• What might be the attraction of entering the teaching profession for someone who has spent most of their career within industry or commerce?


• What should a school be looking for in a candidate: ability to teach the subject or motivation to remain in the teaching profession?


• Are there any particular manpower planning challenges that are faced by schools?