Workers prepare themselves for Chinese trade
Director of continuous professional development with Engineers Ireland, Aidan Harney, said he had seen a big rise in the number of chartered engineers looking to learn Mandarin, or standard Chinese.
“Languages have become one of the core competencies that engineers need to have in their suite of skills,” said Mr Harney.
He said that demand for Mandarin had been growing and in response Engineers Ireland decided to provide Chinese lessons for chartered engineers. He noted that some participants had been learning Chinese in anticipation of a Chinese hub being established near Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Irish food company Glanbia has established a major presence in China. It offers its staff the chance to learn Mandarin in China.
A spokesperson for Glanbia said: “We support staff who go to China to learn Mandarin if they wish. Having Mandarin is not a prerequisite, as English is spoken widely in the business community.”
China has become an important market to Irish food companies. The value of food and beverage exports to China have exploded in the last decade. In 2000 that market was worth €96.2m to Irish exporters, by 2011 it was worth €194.6m.
To ensure that future Irish graduates can compete in the global market, the Irish Institute of Chinese Studies and the UCC Confucius Institute have provided Chinese-language courses, evening courses and vocational courses.
Professor Fan Hong, the head of Asian Studies in UCC, said that they have been developing modules for the last five years. “We have provided summer courses, for companies and business men and women who are interested in getting into Chinese market during the past five years. We have also produced a text book — Business Chinese — and developed online modules called Doing Business in China.”
The department of Asian studies has also provided workshops to more than 15 companies, including CRH and Ibec.
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