Training & Accreditation

Training & accreditation

The importance of training and certification in Public Service Interpreting and Translation
In the field of Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT), professional training is essential to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to become a skilful interpreter or translator. Certification can serve as documented proof that language professionals have indeed mastered these competences, which serves as a recognised quality label in the industry and is in some contexts even required to work as a public service interpreter or translator.

Defining competences for PSIT professionals
An initial framework for competence in PSIT was drafted in 2011. This foundational document, available here, outlines key standards for public service interpreters and translators. However, as PSIT is an ever-evolving field, it’s important to follow-up on the latest innovations and address new developments.

One of the most significant advancements in the field is the rise of video-mediated interpreting. With the rapid evolution of technology, public service providers are increasingly turning to this method as a high-quality alternative to on-site interpreting. To ensure success, several critical factors — such as stable connections, appropriate technical equipment, and effective communication management — must be considered. It is important to integrate this aspect in a competence profile as well, and not only from the interpreter’s perspective, but from the perspectives of all interlocutors involved in the interaction.

Minimum standards emerging from the EU-WEBPSI project
The EU-WEBPSI project, in which ENPSIT is an active partner, has devised a new competence profile and integrated it in a set of minimum standards. It has taken existing competence profiles as a starting point and has catered for some of the more challenging aspects of the current PSI professional environment.

In recent years the demand for video-mediated interpreting has surged, either for sanitary reasons such as during a pandemic or for practical reasons (e.g. to bridge a long distance between the location of the interpreter and that of the public service provider). All parties involved ought to be aware that a video-mediated interpreted meeting should not be considered as just any other Teams or Zoom meeting. The EU-WEBPSI minimum standards incorporate the specificities of video-mediated interpreting with points of interest for interpreters as well as public service providers.

Another crucial focus of these minimum standards is the role of Languages of Lesser Diffusion (LLDs), i.e. languages that are not at all common in the region where the interaction takes place. These are, however, highly common in PSIT settings as the language of communication used by many migrants and refugees. Apart from the scarcity in PSIT professionals for LLDs, such languages may pose challenges that not all interactants may be fully aware of (e.g. terminological gaps), which are addressed in the minimum standards.

Discover the minimal standards here to explore how these advancements are shaping the future of PSIT.

Certification and accreditation of public service interpreters and translators
Minimum standards can guide the training of PSIT professionals but can also serve as a benchmark to test whether they have reached the threshold to actually perform the duties of a public service interpreter or translator. Universities or other training institutions may offer PSIT courses that have their own testing and exam systems, which can certify your competences. These are, however, not necessarily sufficient to become an accredited public service interpreter or translator, i.e. one that is formally recognised by official institutions.

ENPSIT hopes that initiatives such as the EU-WEBPSI minimum standards for PSI will help create momentum to work towards harmonisation of certification standards and practices. What is, however, possibly even more difficult to achieve, is a unified accreditation model. In some countries there is no official accreditation mechanism because there are no official requirements for public service interpreters or translators. In others, accreditation is an administrative matter that rests on a check of relevant documents such as degrees and/or language certificates. And then there are countries with stringent accreditation procedures that involve elaborate competence testing. If you would like to work as a PSIT professional, it is important to check with the relevant authorities in your country what the requirements are.

Our repository has brought together some documents for several countries that provide further information on this. If it doesn’t have the information about your country but you know where to find it, feel free to point us in the right direction so that we can further complement our repository.

Even if training, certification and accreditation are not mandatory to work as a PSIT professional in your country, it would be advisable to actively look for courses that can help you to continue to develop your competences, which will enhance your performance as well as your employability in the field.