CILT, the National Centre for Languages, is pleased to announce its role in a specialist consortium that has just been established to lead on pan-sector standards and qualifications across the UK.

Working with the Council for Administration (CfA) and other partners, CILT will continue its role as the lead body for language and intercultural skills for the workplace. It will use its expertise to ensure that language and related skills are embedded in the key pan-sector areas of business administration, management & leadership, customer service, marketing & sales, enterprise & business support and industrial relations.

A key focus for CILT will be to continue working with sector skills bodies, awarding bodies, professional bodies and other employer organisations across the UK to develop and maintain National Occupational Standards and vocational qualifications for languages, interpreting, translation and intercultural working. CILT will also work with the consortium to carry out Labour Market Intelligence research projects that will outline the case for languages and intercultural skills in the workplace.

Anne Marie Graham, Head of Skills, Business and Adult Learning at CILT, said: ‘CILT is pleased to be able to continue its role as the expert body for languages in the workplace. By taking a collaborative approach with other pan-sector areas, we can ensure that language skills are not just embedded across the diverse sectors of UK industry, but can be fully integrated with the other pan-sector skills as well. CILT has always reflected our employers’ views that languages are valuable across the board – the success of this consortium bid is further evidence of that value.’

Jenny Hewell, Chief Executive of CfA, said: ‘The expanded remit of the CfA gives us the opportunity to directly influence the skills of 10.3 million UK employees working in pan sector job roles, as well as countless more whose jobs include elements of management, administration, customer services, marketing or languages.’

The consortium will be the UK’s leading pan-sector authority across the key areas mentioned above, and will ensure the highest quality of standards amongst all employers.