2. Brian Stobie, International Officer, Durham County Council “I firmly believe that we cannot learn or work in a local, regional or national vacuum. Inspiration, good practice and friendship can be found across the globe; I use my languages every day”. French and German

3. Kristy Robinson, Tax Associate, PriceWaterhouseCoopers "My year abroad helped me achieve the skills and the edge to win a position at one of the world's leading professional services firms." German

4. Ruth O’Rourke, Project Manager Routes into Languages, Links into Languages North East French, German, Spanish, Dutch “Working with employers across the country has shown me just how highly they value language graduates – not only because of their language skills but also because of the skills they have developed in their degree”

5. Cindy Schaller National Network for Translation MA in Interpreting and Translation (University of Salford, UK) “Communication without intelligence is noise; intelligence without communication is irrelevant.” (Ashûd) French and English

6. Maria Szpitun, DARO, Newcastle University “I did Spanish as a part of my BA degree – however I did not go for my exchange year due to visa problems and I’ve always regretted it!” English and Spanish

7. Teresa Threadgall, Theatre Royal “I can’t think of a time in my working career when I haven’t relied on my other languages” Spanish and Norwegian

8. Adrian Broomfield, Associate Dickinson Dees LLP (Law Firm) “I am my firm's representative at the British German Chamber of Commerce and use my language skills on an ad hoc basis in assisting colleagues with translation and taking foreign calls” German, Russian, Latin

9. Silmara Hodge Business Analyst Newcastle University I do believe that languages open many doors for the life. Without the language skills I could not have the opportunities that I have had in my professional and personal life. Portuguese and English

10. National Network for Interpreting Tamara Bloom Spanish "When I first started learning languages at school I dreamed of one day being able to help others communicate. In interpreting I found a career that offers not just that, but also the chance to work in an almost endless variety of fields and settings. You learn something new – and often fascinating – with almost every job. Personal highlights include interpreting a talk about an opera composer; and getting to watch to live performances of his works in between!"

11. Jess Lester, Business Analyst Procter & Gamble French, German, Spanish & Dutch BA (Hons) Modern Languages, Newcastle University “My ability to speak languages is why P&G hired me- it’s not just about the languages themselves, but the skills you learn as a language student. I work in Newcastle but spend 80% of my day speaking or writing German- it’s proven invaluable to me and my career to date. Language students are acutely aware of cultural differences that would normally not even be picked up on- they are well thought of in the employment market and not always easy to come by!”

12. Nick Roberts (PhD) Newcastle University French, Spanish & Catalan "Without languages I wouldn't *still* be a student who gets to spend months on end in the Caribbean researching the French language."

13. Sabrina Mimid Regional Language Network French – Spanish - Arabic “ Undoubtedly, my knowledge and passion for languages proved to be an extremely valuable competitive advantage throughout my career. Now more than ever, students have to compete hard to get that first paid job in their speciality field. Whether it’s in engineering, medicine, the Police force, teaching, general science or business…languages are the skills which will, in so many cases, make the difference from a recruiter’s point of view.”

14. Steven Kidd, General Ledger Accountant Spanish & Portuguese Procter & Gamble ‘Being able to speak Spanish and Portuguese has been pivotal to my career progression at Procter & Gamble and has given me the opportunity to travel. My current role involves reporting financial information to the Finance Director in both Madrid and Lisbon. By using my languages, the company can be sure that the correct message is being delivered. I use my languages everyday ‘

15. Julie Morris, Sales Manager French & German Perry Process Equipment Ltd ‘My acquired knowledge of French and German has proven invaluable throughout my working career. Speaking a foreign language always seems to impress a potential client and has enabled me to establish and strengthen relationships with companies I may have otherwise struggled to deal with. In addition I have spent several years living and working in Germany which has given me a cultural awareness that I have applied in my current role. ’

16. Carole Shepherd Accutrans Ltd, Language Consultancy My knowledge of languages has given me the chance to work in the UK and abroad as a translator/interpreter, teacher/lecturer, senior examiner, textbook author. French, German, Latin, Russian & Italian