Communication holds the key to success for any business and English skills are essential for that, professionals said at a conference in the city on Thursday.

International Conference on English Learning and Teaching Skills organised by the department of Basic Science and Humanities, Institute of Engineering & Management, in association with

The Telegraph, focuses on the need to communicate in English both verbally and over email to meet industry requirements, express a scientific idea or write a creative piece.

“We produce engineers and managers and get some of the brightest brains in our institute. But compared to students of some reputable institutes, our students get jobs with lower salaries. Despite knowing the subject well, they cannot impress the interviewer because there is no strength in their language,” said Satyajit Chakrabarti, president, IEM-UEM Group.

Professionals from the industry said proper communication was important. “In industry, it is as much about communication as it is about technology…,” said Preetam Roy, senior director, Cognizant Technology Solutions India Private Limited.

Corey Woodard of the University of Arkansas Fort Smith said: “Why is effective communication in the workplace important? All of us communicate. Have we thought about how we communicate effectively not just communication for the sake of it.”

Munmun Nath, principal, senior school, Calcutta International School, said the habit of reading and writing is disappearing and vocabulary is suffering.