The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) and the Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (NordCham) are strongly urging the country to boost efforts to halt the decline in English proficiency among Filipino employees and workers, warning that a continuing slide could hurt the country's competitiveness.
In an editorial for last Tuesday's issue (October 24),
The Manila Times echoed this concern of the two foreign business groups after the Philippines slipped four notches down to 22nd place among 111 countries in the rankings of the 2022 edition of the English Proficiency Index (EPI) by the global education company Education First. The country's EPI score of 578 places it in the "high proficiency" category, a level of adequacy for tasks like making work presentations, understanding TV shows, and reading newspapers.
IMAGE CREDIT: VENTUREMANAGEMENT.NETECCP president Paulo Duarte said in a statement that the Philippines needs to maintain its workers' English proficiency as it is a strong competitive advantage in attracting international trade and investment. He said that the facility with the English language enhances workplace efficiency and overall business operations.
In the same vein, NordCham president Bo Lundqvist observed: "Knowing that English is one of several major advantages for Filipinos, we would encourage the government to take the necessary steps to retain and improve English language training at all levels of education, with a focus on Business English." .
Read in full The ManilaTimes editorial on "Arresting PH decline in English proficiency"!
