‘English is now a core workforce capability, not a soft skill’
Employers hiring workers from out of Canada will need to ensure that these workers’ English language skills are sharp, especially at the time of artificial intelligence, according to a recent report.
That’s because AI is increasing, not replacing, the need for English skills in the workplace, reports ETS’s TOEIC programme.
Currently, 81% of employers say the integration of AI tools increases the need for workplace English proficiency, according to The Global English Skills Report, released March 9, 2026, which surveyed 1,325 HR decision‑makers across 17 countries. About 9 in 10 respondents say English skills are required to use AI interfaces, generate effective prompts and assess AI‑generated information.
Overall, 90% of employers surveyed say English proficiency is critical to the success of their organisation, and 92% say English language proficiency among employees is more important now than it was five years ago.
English language skills are in demand with professionals, according to a previous report.
Competitive advantage, assessments
The ETS report also links English proficiency to business performance. ETS found that 86% of employers believe organisations whose employees are not fluent in English are at a competitive disadvantage, while 83% say hiring candidates with insufficient English skills imposes costs such as higher turnover, weaker retention or lower productivity.
Miscommunication with customers is another pressure point. According to ETS, 74% of organisations say miscommunications due to lack of English proficiency have strained client relationships. Ninety per cent agree that their organisation’s ability to deliver strong performance is directly tied to English skills.
The research highlights a growing role for English assessment in both hiring and workforce development. ETS reports that 78% of employers use English assessments for recruitment or screening, 71% use them for pre‑training evaluation and 66% for promotion readiness. Standardised third‑party assessments such as TOEIC are used most often and are viewed as more effective than internal tests or informal evaluations.
Over half (55%) of HR decision‑makers rate standardised third‑party assessments as “very effective”, compared with 51% for internally developed formal assessments and 47% for informal assessments. Organisations that use standardised English assessments are 13 percentage points more likely than non‑users to report high satisfaction with their competitive standing and 14 percentage points more likely to be very satisfied with organisational growth. They also report higher satisfaction with workflow efficiency, employee productivity, professional growth, retention and employee morale.
Many Canadian employers have been hiring migrant workers, and even governments have ramped up their hiring of workers from outside Canada.
Barriers and the road ahead
Despite the perceived importance of English skills, ETS says 90% of respondents report at least one barrier to adopting English assessment tools, including time constraints, difficulty scaling solutions, integration challenges and difficulty finding a trusted provider. Respondents also point to gaps between the importance of attributes such as accuracy, proven quality and user‑friendly reporting and the performance of current solutions.
Looking ahead, the ETS report suggests English assessment and education will become more deeply embedded in talent strategies. Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) of HR decision‑makers believe a more competitive job market is increasing the need for workplace English proficiency, and 84% expect companies in their country to administer English assessments for all new hires within five years.
About 2 in 3 (63%) of organisations already allocate at least US$50,000 annually to English skills assessment and education.
Previously, a formal complaint filed by a former employee led to significant changes in the Bank of Canada’s approach to bilingualism.
