Did you know that almost 1 in 4 people living in Australia don’t speak English at home? Over 850,000 of these say they either can’t speak English at all, or only very poorly. These are some fairly substantial numbers, especially when you consider the flow on impact, such as struggles with navigating health services or retail outlets.
It’s a key reason why speaking another language in the multicultural hotpot of Australia can be beneficial for your employability. But there are plenty of others, like Australia’s ever-expanding overseas trade partnerships and our booming tourism sector, as well as the personal benefits that come with being multilingual (for instance, enhanced cognitive abilities like better multi-tasking, problem solving and decision making – all crucial skills in the employment world).
This sets the stage for our deeper look into the role of foreign language skills in key sectors of the Aussie job market, as well as the most in-demand languages to learn to enhance your employability.
Why Language Skills Matter in the Australian Job Economy
According to Job and Skills Australia, the jobs market is projected to grow by 13.7% by 2034. The bulk of new roles will be in three key sectors:
- Health care and social assistance (26% growth / 585,000 jobs)
- Professional, scientific and technical services (19% growth / 254,000 jobs)
- Education and training (12% growth / 150,000 jobs)
What’s interesting is that each of these sectors also has a real need for those who can speak a foreign language. Let’s look at these and a few others that desperately need workers of the multilingual variety.
Health care and social assistance (including aged and disability care)
The last census shows 23% of Aussies speak a language other than English at home. When you add a rapidly aging population into the mix, that’s a fair whack of people who increasingly need to access health care and social assistance services.
The cornerstone of proper health and social assistance care is effective communication. It makes sense that a good portion of the 585,000 health and social care jobs over the next 10 years will go to people who can speak a language other than English, whether it’s working directly as an interpreter or it forming a smaller part of your core medical or social care role.
Professional, scientific and technical services (includes government and public services)
Australia’s professional, scientific, and technical services grow exponentially year on year. It means industries like IT, R & D, government and international trade and business are all in desperate need of skilled workers to plug shortfalls. They’re also sectors that benefit from employees who can speak another language. It might be speaking directly to customers from non-English speaking backgrounds both here in Australia and overseas, successfully bridging communication gaps and ensuring smoother business transactions.
But it’s also communicating with employees from different linguistic backgrounds to foster inclusive and effective teams. For instance, in roles where employees may struggle with English proficiency, those who can speak their language play a critical role in facilitating communication to enhance team cohesiveness and overall productivity. Businesses quite rightly see this as a competitive edge.
Education and training
Australian classrooms are becoming increasingly multicultural. A small example is in Delacombe, a regional Victorian suburb. Around 8% of their 600 primary school population speak a language other than English at home. That’s almost 50 kids who can’t ask a question or even tell their teacher their name.
As such, schools are on the hunt for bilingual teachers, whether it’s to teach dedicated English as a Second Language classes, work within classrooms to support kids with low to no English, or even in administration to help with interpretation and communication with parents.
Tourism and hospitality
The Aussie travel and tourism sector has been hitting its stride recently, rebounding from the devastation of the pandemic years. Over the next decade, it’s projected to support over 2 million jobs nationally, representing 12% of all Australian employment. The role of ‘tour guide’ has even been added to the Australian Government’s Jobs and Skills Australia Occupation Shortage List (OSL) for the first time.
It’s pretty clear how being bi- or multilingual can directly translate to a job in tourism or hospo. You can connect with diverse clientele and provide personalised experiences, whether that’s on tours or service in a bar or restaurant. If you’re working for a global company, you can communicate with overseas colleagues, perhaps even getting the chance to do an office swap. It’s just the tip of the iceberg of where your language skills could take you in travel and hospitality.
The Most In-Demand Languages for Australian Job Seekers
So now you get the merits of being multilingual, which language will give you the biggest bang for your employability buck? What follows is a selection of some of the most in-demand languages in Australia’s job market in 2025. Some are ranked according to who many people speak them at home based on the last census (2021). Others are included for their growing popularity in the business world due, in part, to Australian demographic changes since the last census.
Mandarin
Language snapshot
- 1st most common language spoken at home in Australia other than English
- 685,274 people speak it (2.7% population)
- Mandarin speakers in Australia have a relatively high rate of poor English proficiency – almost 30% say they either speak it ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’
- Top suburbs for Mandarin-speakers – Melbourne VIC, Glen Waverly VIC, Hurstville NSW
- Over 500 Mandarin-related jobs on SEEK, including in finance, beauty therapy, sales, marketing, and HR
Mandarin is one of the most valuable languages for Aussie job seekers in 2025. This comes down to a few key reasons. China is by far one of our largest trading partners, so speaking Mandarin can come in really handy if you’re doing business in this part of the world. It might be in trade, law, in diplomacy, finance and more.
Australia also has a fairly substantial portion of Chinese immigrants, students and tourists here, many who don’t speak English at all. If you have Mandarin skills, you have plenty of job opportunities in a range of industries that have a high portion of Chinese clientele. Retail, tourism and hospitality, education, not to mention health and social service fields.
Lastly, Mandarin is considered to be an exceptionally difficult language to learn. By developing any level of proficiency you show a potential boss you possess dedication, adaptability, and capacity to acquire complex skills. It’s a great way to set yourself apart and above other candidates.
Arabic
Language snapshot
- 2nd most common language spoken at home in Australia other than English
- 367,159 people speak it (1.4% population)
- Arabic speakers in Australia have a moderate level of English proficiency – 15% say they either speak it ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’
- Top suburbs for Arabic-speakers – Greenacre NSW, Guildford NSW VIC, Punchbowl NSW
- Over 70 Arabic-related jobs on SEEK, including in migration, social work, aged care and legal services
Arabic is spoken in many countries across the world, including the Gulf region, the Middle East and North Africa. That means there is a diversity of Arabic speakers living and visiting our shores. Certain areas of the country also have a high concentration of Arabic-speaking people, such as South Western Sydney that has 47.5% of all the Arabic speakers in NSW. It’s a great place to look for a job if you have these language skills!
Being well versed with the Arabic language could see you land a role in areas such as social services, legal aid, healthcare and local councils, not to mention government diplomatic and security operations. The University of Melbourne has a comprehensive list of jobs and industries where you could use these skills.
Vietnamese
Language snapshot
- 3rd most common language spoken at home in Australia other than English
- 320,760 people speak it (1.3% population)
- Vietnamese speakers in Australia have a high rate of poor English proficiency – 32% say they either speak it ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’
- Top suburbs for Vietnamese-speakers – St Albans VIC, Cabramatta NSW, Bankstown NSW
- Over 100 Vietnamese-related jobs on SEEK, including in car sales, disability support, employment services and tourism
The Vietnamese people have influenced the cultural landscape of Australia since the 1970s. The numbers of Vietnamese immigrants and visitors have steadily increased since this time, with pockets of some of our major cities home to large populations of those who speak this language, for instance Cabramatta in Sydney and Springvale in Melbourne.
Proficiency in the Vietnamese language can open doors to many different roles in diverse Aussie sectors. Examples include social services, healthcare, legal aid and local councils, particularly in communities with large Vietnamese-speaking populations.
Hindi
Language snapshot
- 9th most common language spoken at home in Australia other than English
- 197, 132 people speak it (0.8% population)
- Hindi speakers in Australia have a very high rate of English proficiency – just 4% say they either speak it ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’
- Top suburbs for Hindi-speakers – Point Cook VIC, Tarneit VIC, Parramatta NSW
While Hindi takes out a relatively low spot in the top ten most spoken languages (9th), it’s a case of watch this space. The 2026 census will likely reveal a big change in this figure, placing it much higher up the list. This is due to a significant influx of Indian migrants, workers and students in the past few years. The fact that Singh is now the most popular surname in Victoria, surpassing ‘Smith’ says something!
Globally speaking, Hindi is also a language of business as India’s economy continues to expand. The Australian government is a bit proponent of trade between the two countries, so being proficient in both English and Hindi really solidifies your worth as an employee. Where you land a role varies widely, with just about every industry touched, from business to the arts.
Spanish
Language snapshot
- 10th most common language spoken at home in Australia other than English
- 171, 378 people speak it (0.7% population)
- Spanish speakers in Australia have a relatively high level of English proficiency – only 11% say they either speak it ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’
- Top suburbs for Spanish-speakers – Melbourne VIC, Southbank VIC, Surfers Paradise QLD
- Over 100 Spanish-related jobs SEEK, including in customer service, hospitality, HR, and home care work
Spanish is a widely popular language worldwide, spoken across multiple continents and countries. It can be thought of universally, like English, so if you can develop proficiency in it, you’ll open up a world of working opportunities.
In Australia, you can find work in traditional sectors such as education, international relations and tourism, but also in lesser-known areas like the arts, literature and perhaps even TV for Spanish speakers, both Down Under and globally.
Japanese
Language snapshot
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- 58, 757 people speak it
- Japanese speakers in Australia have a moderately good level of English proficiency – only 12% say they either speak it ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’
- Top suburbs for Japanese-speakers – Chatswood NSW, Southport QLD, Melbourne VIC
- Over 100 Japanese-related jobs SEEK, including in the media, research, sale, travel and retail
Economically, Australia-Japan relations continue to go from strength to strength in both business and tourism. Japan is Australia’s second-largest trading partner, while over 346,000 Japanese tourists visited our shores in 2024 (55% increase on 2023).
There are a good number of jobs going in Australia for those with Japanese language skills in sectors such as financial services, information technology, agribusiness and communications technology, aside from the ‘standards’ such as travel, international relations, and translation and interpretation.
Your First Steps On The Path To A Multilingual Career
It’s pretty clear that learning another language – be it Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Hindi, Spanish, or Japanese – is a great way to boost your employability across any number of sectors. Each one is highly in demand in its own way, with employers increasingly seeking bilingual and multilingual candidates to help them bridge language gaps, enhance team cohesion, and tap into expanding overseas markets.
While investing in language learning takes considerable time and effort, the rewards it brings to your career are unmatched. If you agree, it’s time to think about what language you might like to learn, while also seeking out what opportunities are available with that skill set. You can then take the bold but beneficial step to enrol in an accredited language and get learning. Best of luck!
