LOCAL businesses are missing out on millions of pounds worth of trade each year because they lack language skills and cultural awareness.

To help businesses in the North West, Lloyds Bank has produced a briefing - Overcoming Language Barriers - as research shows fewer than one in five small and medium-sized exporters have a language strategy.

With UK exports struggling over the last six months, 14 per cent of firms have lost trade due to poor language skills.

Said Lloyds Bank regional international business manager Jeff Sykes: "Local exporters are under extreme pressure and it is vital they develop a language strategy to help them remain competitive.

"This briefing will point North West business owners in the right direction about when and where language skills need to be developed. This includes front line staff taking simple messages in the foreign language they are most likely to deal with at work."

Professor Stephen Hagen, of the University of Wolverhampton, who advises the Department of Trade and Industry on business and language issues, said: "European companies are increasingly involved in cross-border trade. The international trading environment is one of the rapid, continuous change leading to increasing cultural contact and an even greater need for communication."

To obtain a Lloyds Bank briefing pack call 0113-237-2269.

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