India faces a massive shortage of workers with European language skills over the next five years which could see the country needing to recruit up to 120,000 foreigners.

The language skills deficit is revealed in a new report by research firm Evalueserve, which calculates that no more than 40,000 Indians will have a European language specialization other than English.

As demand for offshore services increases from continental European countries, the study claims this will leave a shortage of 120,000 workers who specialize in a non-English European language.