So how important is a second language to landing a job in the EU?

A while back, I posted about worries in the UK that the country's (largely monolingual) graduates are less than prepared, linguistically, to compete for internationally focused jobs. Now the Irish Times reports that a lack of language skills may also be an obstacle for young Irish workers hoping to spend a few years working elsewhere in the EU.

According to the article, based on results of the first Eurobarometer survey carried out by the European Commission, young Irish citizens are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the EU, and the role it will play in their future. In fact, most hope to study, live and work in other EU Member States.

Yet the article continues on a less optimistic note:

"However, despite their enthusiasm for travel to other European countries, Ireland has the highest number of young people citing language difficulties as the main obstacle when looking for a job abroad - almost two thirds of Irish youngsters said that their lack of language skills would make it difficult to find work abroad."

Sounds familiar, says this child of a largely monolingual nation (the USA).

If gaining the Spanish skills to live and work in Spain is your mind, the newest don Quijote course may be something to consider:

don Quijote has started offering a new program which allows you to follow a Spanish course of at least 4 weeks with a paid work placement in a hotel or country house in mainland Spain, the Balearics or the Canaries, no matter what passport you carry. Might be one practical solution if you are a young person or new graduate eager to travel, work abroad and build a resume that demonstrates the language skills you're working diligently to improve. The program has yet to be added to the dQ web, but you can find more details and a contact link here.