Hello! My name is Steff and I am the Coleg Cymraeg School Ambassador at Ysgol Bryn Tawe.
I have decided to write a blog about: Is there any point to the Welsh language within the world of work?
Have you ever applied for a job? Have you ever gone through your CV evaluating every little point? If you are like me, the answer is yes, but we often don't include our 'superpower’, our language.
Although many consider Welsh as something that dies once they leave school, did you know that there are thousands of jobs that specify that the Welsh language is an essential skill in order to apply! Therefore, if you apply for one of these jobs, your chances of succeeding have just improved significantly as there is much less competition compared to standard jobs. But this is not the only advantage of working in Welsh. Often your pay will also increase as you are a special individual and therefore worth more to that organisation.
I know several people who work through the medium of Welsh, and all of them say they have had special opportunities as a result of their use of Welsh, for instance talking to successful poets, speaking to the First Minister and even Gareth Bale.
But I can hear you saying, 'but there are more jobs available in English, so why should we wait for one in Welsh?' Well, my advice to you is don't hesitate! Any English-medium job will be more than happy to take you on, but if you want a better salary or even a better working environment, I wonder if the Welsh language is a superpower you could take advantage of?