Map of the top 50 countries with the largest Greek communities (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is an extremely interesting article, written by Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin, and published in the FT. Check it out!

via Greeks seek better life in home of austerity – FT.com.

The article looks at professional Greeks, who have gone to Germany  to learn German, find jobs and give their families a better chance.

For me, the article picks up a number of generalizable themes:

• Emphasis on educated professional workers, rather than unskilled labour
• The continued importance of education and professional qualifications
• Critical importance of language skills, and
• The challenge of the unemployed and unskilled workers left behind in the weak economies of Europe

As UK Chancellor, George Osborne contemplates his political future, and limited range of policy options this Summer, he should, in my view, offer enormous incentives to stimulate language learning in the UK or even teaching English. Language skills are essential for professional mobility, and for effective export penetration in BRICs countries. Also what about encouraging the UK unemployed to spend some time in China as an “English teacher” – there is enormous demand?

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