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Employer Quotes

The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Financial Services

They are talking about this topic: Occupation-Specific Skills

 

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The quotes below are about this issue:
Some respondents say that cross-cultural skills are in demand (including bilingual abilities for those in service positions and knowledge of various tax laws for accountants) while others feel it is not of high importance.

Employer Quote Region
"Employer 1: When I started thirteen years ago, some of the struggles I had with the complexities in the changing world were that we had clients that were going to Wisconsin and the Dakotas and we had to learn the tax law in those states. In the last three or four years, everything's international. Fifty percent of our clients are international—buying, selling, little ones, big ones. And you don't have to be big to be selling internationally. We've had clients speak to us internally and they talk about how they feel it's easier to do business internationally than it is domestically. That's just one experience. But I think the international element is going to be big over the next fifteen

Interviewer: Great point. Understanding how business is conducted and how they do accounting in India versus Taiwan versus Mexico, I suppose.

Employer 2: Are you looking for more of a cultural, linguistic...?

Employer 1: I think for us it's more technical. It's tax law and accounting rules. But also as the advisor—as most of us are—your clients are going to have more general questions about, 'How do I do this?' or 'How do I get started?' or 'Who could my allies could be?' You just have to have a level of confidence."		 Central
"Interviewer: Do you see yourself wanting more people who have at least two languages?

Employer 1: We probably don't, but others may.

Employer 2: Possibly. Right now we don't."		 Central
"I think what I'm hearing here is so fantastic. It's very important that our private-sector friends say that foreign languages are critical, because they are being cut all over the place. If you could say that two years of a foreign language should be a requirement for every college graduate, then that would be great because I think the institutes would hear that coming from you." Metro
"Question: When you were talking about the foreign languages, is that because of all the cutbacks in higher education? Two of the largest institutions have cut considerably back in their foreign language offerings. So, if you have those needs you really must voice them so that the legislature hears that.

Employer: That's very interesting because we do need customer service people who are bilingual. That's one of our hardest jobs to fill. We have customer service areas that are open from seven in the morning until seven at night, and a number of our bilingual jobs often stay open—unfilled—for months at a time. So, there is a great need. And there will be more of a need as more states incorporate. We have bigger populations, particularly in the southern states, and Spanish-speaking populations in California and Arizona. So, I'll put a plug in right now that we need those people.

Question: Well, that's why we're here. We are here, so we can find out what you really need because this is something that's just now emerging, so thank you."		 Metro
"Employer: It's become very critical for banks to be able to hire tellers, particularly tellers that speak Spanish fluently. And that's a real struggle. A real struggle. Not only from the skill set point-of-view but also, frankly, from a bank security point-of-view. Because if the candidate hasn't—let's say they haven't been in the country long enough, they don't have credit, they don't have the right documentation, it's going to be difficult to find a job in banking. But there are certain areas such as southern Minnesota where those skills are really important.

Interviewer: So, for those teller jobs is Spanish bilingualism required?

Employer: Yes, yes, yes.

Interviewer: Is Spanish the only language or are there other languages that are required?

Employer: Right now, it's Spanish. Certainly the Somali language would be important, too, but that's very difficult to learn. But in the Metro, there are banks that have bilingual tellers in multiple languages."		 Metro
"From a broad communication skills standpoint—and this is my personal opinion here—we just talked about how this generation communicates and that their communication skills aren't where we'd want them to be. I think when someone has a second language it automatically makes them a better communicator because, as they learn that second language, they have to learn how it equates to the English language. So just having a second language, whether they use it or not, makes them a better communicator." Metro