The 5 second languages that will score you the job

Job candidates who know a second language can put it to good use. (Source: Getty)

Knowing a second language can come in pretty handy – and it can also raise your job prospects.

According to UEI College, knowing a second language can also see you earn more, open more doors and can even increase your brain power and creativity.

New data from jobs website Indeed has revealed that the most sought-after second languages in Australia are Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian and German.

And where these languages are in demand differ, too: those who can speak Chinese and Japanese are wanted as classroom teachers, cooks/chefs and in customer service roles.

With thousands of Australian students coming from multi-cultural backgrounds, it’s no wonder that teachers who can communicate with a student’s mother tongue are sought after.

And with some 1.3 million Chinese tourists visiting Australia every year, retailers are looking to capture a slice of the lucrative Asian market by literally speaking the language.

Russian-speaking home care nurses are in high demand, and employers are seeking care workers and disability support workers who can speak Arabic.

Job matching platform IWant2Work flagged social work, customer service, education and healthcare as key area that would benefit from speaking a second language.

While English is the most commonly spoken language in Australia, Mandarin Chinese is the second most-spoken language, followed by Arabic, Cantonese and Vietnamese, according to ABS’ 2016 census statistics.

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