Southeast Asia is entering a defining phase of economic growth, which is evident from the TOEIC Global English Skills Report.
Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are rapidly positioning themselves as global hubs for manufacturing, digital services, and cross-border business operations. As supply chains diversify and multinational collaboration accelerates, the region is no longer an emerging participant in the global economy. It is becoming a central driver of it.
But this shift is exposing a critical requirement.
A shared language for global work.
The Shift: From Local Talent to Global Workforce
Across Southeast Asia, organizations are operating across borders more than ever before. Talent is collaborating across markets, time zones, and functions.
This is fundamentally changing what employers expect from the workforce.
82% of HR leaders say global collaboration is increasing the need for English proficiency, while 78% say greater access to English education is raising employer expectations.
This dynamic is visible across key markets:
- In Thailand, 88% of HR leaders say global collaboration is increasing the need for English, and 95% say English proficiency is more important today than five years ago
- In Vietnam, 84% of HR leaders say global collaboration is driving demand for English, with 95% also reporting its growing importance over time
- In Indonesia, 91% of HR leaders say global collaboration is increasing the need for English, and 100% say it is more important than five years ago
The pattern is consistent across the region: as economies globalize, English becomes the connective layer that enables participation.
AI Is Accelerating, Not Replacing, the Need for English
One of the most important misconceptions is that AI will reduce the need for English. The data shows the opposite.
92% of HR leaders say English skills are necessary to effectively use AI tools.
Across Southeast Asia, this is already a reality:
- In Vietnam, 99% of organizations report needing to use AI tools that require English inputs or interfaces
- In Thailand, 89% of HR leaders say AI integration is increasing the need for English proficiency (Thailand GES Report)
- Indonesia, 88% say AI integration is increasing the need for workplace English (Indonesia GES Report)
AI is not removing language barriers. It is raising the bar for communication.
To use AI effectively, employees need to prompt clearly, interpret outputs accurately, and collaborate across systems that are often built in English.
The Language of Scale: How English Is Enabling Southeast Asia’s Growth
Employers across Southeast Asia are no longer treating English as a “nice to have.”
They are investing in it as a core business capability.
63% of organizations now allocate more than $50,000 annually to English assessment and workforce development (TOEIC Global English Skills Report).
This is reinforced by how organizations are using English in practice:
- In Thailand, English assessments are widely used across hiring, training, and promotion decisions, with strong links to performance and competitiveness (Thailand GES Report)
- In Vietnam, organizations are embedding English into hiring and workforce development strategies, with more than half expecting it to become a requirement for all new hires within five years (Vietnam GES Report)
- In Indonesia, employers report widespread use of English assessments and increasing demand tied directly to business growth and workforce readiness (Indonesia GES Report)
English is moving beyond education systems and into the core of how companies hire, train, and scale talent
The Opportunity: Unlocking Southeast Asia’s Next Phase of Growth
This is not just a workforce trend. It is an economic one.
Across Southeast Asia, English proficiency is increasingly linked to:
- Access to higher-value roles
- Participation in multinational teams
- Ability to leverage AI and digital tools
- Long-term career mobility
To learn more about why English proficiency is a core business skill and how it connects to outcomes such as global collaboration, productivity and growth, download the full TOEIC Global English Skills Report.