This document discusses the employability of language professionals in Serbia. It examines who language professionals are, where they seek employment, the types of employment offered, how they are assessed in job interviews, and whether university studies should aim to increase employability. The document uses data from a REFLESS Project study of over 1,800 respondents, including students, unemployed and employed graduates, and companies, to analyze topics like satisfaction levels, reasons for choosing certain fields of study, and qualifications.

1. TOWARDS A STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING
LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICIES IN SERBIA (STRALED)
The Employability of Language Professionals
Jelena Gledić
November 13th, 2012
Belgrade

2. The Employability of Language Professionals
 Who are language professionals?
 Where do they seek employment?
 What type of employment is offered?
 How are they assessed in job interviews?
 How easily can they seek jobs outside their primary professional field?
 Should university studies be aimed towards employability?

3. Who are language professionals?
 Persons who have a degree in languages
 People who work in translation, interpreting, teaching etc.
 REFLESS Project study: 1826 respondents
 827 students
 236 unemployed graduate philologists
 171 employed graduate philologists
 526 companies
 66 univesity teachers
 Are they satisfied?
 Why did they choose philology?

4. Who are language professionals?
Grade
Average no. of Have additional
average Studied abroad
years of study qualifications
(out of 10)
Un employed
graduates
6,3 7,97 34,3% 55%
Employed
graduates
5,31 8,47 46% 66%

5. Where do they seek employment?
 Schools – English, French, Russian, German
(Spanish, Italian, Chinese)
 Language schools
 SMEs
 Government, embassies, libraries, cultural centers,
 How fast do they find a job after graduation?

6. What type of employment is offered?
 Temporary
 Part-time
 Language *translation, interpreting, formal correspondence
 Language and culture
 Language, literature and culture

7. How are they assessed in job interviews?
 Interview
 International certificate
 Recommendation
We have a talk with the candidate
Papers don’t matter, it matters that the candidate can really speak in
a foreign language when needed
The candidate should really know the language

8. How easily can they seek jobs outside their
primary professional field?
 Additional skills
 Professional skills over language skills
 Should university studies be aimed towards
employability?