In the last year, Costa Rica significantly improved its level of English language proficiency, while the rest of Central America made no significant progress.
The global English language company Education First published its 2018 report, which defines five levels of language proficiency in 88 countries around the world by calculating an index called "English Proficiency Index". In the world ranking, Costa Rica was placed 36th, Guatemala 55th, Panama 56th, Honduras 69th, El Salvador 70th and Nicaragua 72nd.
According to Education First's English Proficiency Index, Costa Rica and El Salvador have not been able to raise their level of proficiency in the last five years, while Panama and Guatemala, which in 2014 and 2015 did improve their performance, fell in 2016 to the "Very low" level.
The index published each year by Global Education First defines three levels of language proficiency in 72 countries around the world.In the world rankings, Costa Rica,Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador ranked 38, 53, 50 and 63, respectively.
Ibex Global Solutions has announced an investment of $4 million in a customer service, collections and back office center, to service its operations in Latin America.
Its geographical proximity to the United States was one of the reasons why the company Ibex Global Solutions decided to set up its regional headquarters in Managua. With an investment of $4 million, the company has opened its service center, where 500 agents will work providing services in English and Spanish and 250 in Spanish only.
More workers who speak a second language are needed in order to continue growing in terms of attracting investment.
The arrival of international companies engaged in outsourcing services shows an upward trend in Nicaragua, but the main obstacle to greater growth is the lack of potential employees who speak and write two languages.
The unemployment rate now reaches 10% in a population where 60% of workers have not completed high school, but teachers refuse to be evaluated on their ability in subjects they teach.
EDITORIAL
An article in Nacion.com cites statements by Victor Morales, Minister of Labour, on the rising unemployment levels in Costa Rica: "...There is a mismatch between supply and demand in the corporate sector. There is a demand for skilled technicians; but most of the Costa Rican labor force is unskilled. 60% have not finished high school; it is a national drama. "
According to Education First's English Proficiency Index, in Costa Rica the English level is low, while in Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador it is very low.
Out of the 63 countries surveyed in the English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), Costa Rica ranks 43, Guatemala is No.
Companies recognize how important managing a growing international and mobile workforce is for the future of their businesses, but they do not know how to do it.
Companies do not have an appropriate strategy to deal with the transformation that is happening the way of working in the world -from the convergence of five generations to operations spread across the planet- which will lead to a crisis in management, attraction and retention of talent, concludes the Workforce 2020 study, prepared by Oxford Economics and SAP.
A poor level of English is still one of Latin America's most significant competitive weaknesses, especially in the countries of Central America.
Of the 60 countries evaluated in the English Proficiency Index developed by EF Educatio First (EF EPI), Costa Rica ranks in 37th place, Guatemala at number 52, followed by El Salvador at 53 and Panama at 56.
It is increasingly common for companies to look for accountants, managers, engineers, architects and technicians who are bilingual.
Although more and more companies are looking for bilingual staff, language schools believe that the demand for courses is still too low to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and investment entering the country.
Even so , " Nicaraguans have recently realized the importance of English, it is the language of business worldwide, it is the language of the internet, documents , and they now feel that it is becoming a priority," said Franklin Tellez, academic director of the Nicaraguan American Cultural Center (CCNN) .
The difficulty in finding English speakers is the main bottleneck to Nicaragua's tourism industry.
In 2012, Nicaragua received 241,000 visitors from the U.S., 77,000 from Europe and 30,710 from Canada, representing 30% of the total of the 1.18 million tourists who came into the country.
There are plenty of applicants for the posts, but there are few who are really qualified to meet the demands of each job.
A study entitled 'Lack of Talent 2011' by the firm Manpower Group shows that 30% of companies in Costa Rica say they have trouble finding certain types of staff such as technicians, salesmen and secretaries with the required skills.
Recognized Brazilian company of backhoe loaders, telescopic, articulated and other types of cranes looking for companies interested in representing the brand and distributing their machinery in Central America and Mexico. The company manufactures and sells telescopic,...
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