Cover not available

Article published In: Babel
Vol. 64:5/6 (2018) ► pp.692–709

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Translators’ competence profiles versus market demand

 | Universität Wien
Published online: 10 December 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00059.kra
Abstract
The primary objective of this paper is to find out which competences translators need in order to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of the translation market. First, European initiatives on translators’ competence profiles will be analysed. The results will be examined in light of the latest translation industry surveys in order to identify whether the skills profiles (and thus translators’ abilities) match the needs of the labour market. The analysed data reflects on the most essential requirements set by industry: professional competence followed by technological and domain competence. The findings of the present article aim to support translator training institutions in tailoring study programmes to market needs.
Résumé
Le principal objectif de cet article est de déterminer de quelles compétences les traducteurs ont besoin pour répondre aux exigences de plus en plus complexes du marché de la traduction. Nous analyserons tout d’abord les initiatives européennes en ce qui concerne le profil de compétences des traducteurs. Les résultats seront examinés à la lumière des études les plus récentes dans le secteur de la traduction, afin de déterminer si les profils de compétences (et donc les capacités des traducteurs) correspondent à la demande sur le marché du travail. Les données analysées se penchent sur les exigences essentielles posées par le secteur : des compétences professionnelles, suivies par des compétences technologiques et par spécialité. Les conclusions de cet article ont pour but d’aider les établissements de formation de traducteurs à harmoniser les programmes d’études en fonction des besoins du marché.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.EMT’s wheel of competence
  • 3.TransCert skill card
  • 4.CIUTI’s statutes
  • 5. ISO 17100:2015
  • 6.Comparison of competence profiles
  • 7.Competence profiles versus market demand
  • 8.OPTIMALE
  • 9.EUATC
  • 10.CIUTI survey
  • 11.EMT survey – revisited
  • 12.Conclusion
  • 13.Outlook
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (34)
References
Agora [URL]
Borja, Anabel; Isabel García Izquierdo; and Vicent Montalt. 2009. “Research Methodology in Specialized Genres for Translation Purposes”. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 3 (1): 57–79. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Budin, Gerhard; Krajcso, Zita; and Lommel, Arle. 2013. “The TransCert Project: Ensuring that transnational translator certification meets stakeholder needs”. Translation & Interpreting 5 (1): 143–155.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Byrne, Jody. 2012. Scientific and Technical Translation Explained: A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Beginners. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
CIUTI [URL]
CIUTI statutes [URL]
Drugan, Joanna. 2013. Quality in professional translation. New York: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
EMT Expert Group (2009) [URL]
EMT: MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING 2017 [URL]
EUATC; FIT; ELIA; EMT; GALA; and LIND. 2016. 2016 Language Industry Survey – Expectations and Concerns of the European Language Industry. [URL]
. 2017. 2017 Language Industry Survey – Expectations and Concerns of the European Language Industry. [URL]
Fiola, Marco A. 2013. “Should the market dictate the content of specialized translation curricula?” Connexions, International Professional Communication Journal 1 (1): 59–63.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gandia, Ed. 2012. Freelance Industry Report [URL]
Gouadec, Daniel. 2007. Translation as a Profession. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
ISO [International Organization for Standardization] (2015). ISO-17100: Translation Services – Requirements for Translation Services. Geneva: ISO.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kearns, John. 2006. Curriculum Renewal in Translator Training: vocational challenges in academic environments with reference to needs and situation analysis and skills transferability form the contemporary experience of Polish translator training culture. PhD dissertation supervised by Dr Heinz Lechleiter. Dublin: Dublin City University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kelly, Natalie. 2012. “Clearing up the Top 10 Myths About Translation”. [URL]
Kiraly, Donald C. 2000. A Social Constructivist Approach to Translator Education. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
OPTIMALE [URL]
Olohan, Maeve. 2013. “Scientific and Technical Translation”. In Routledge Handbook of Translation Studies, ed. by Francesca Bartrina; and Carmen Millan Valera, 425–437. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Orlando, Marc. 2016. Training 21st century translators and interpreters: At the crossroads of practice, research and pedagogy. Berlin: Frank & Timme.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
PACTE. 2001. “La competencia traductora y su adquisición”. Quaderns. Revista de Traducció 61: 39–45. [URL]
PROZ. 2012. State of the industry: freelance translators in 2012 [URL]
Pym, Anthony; Grin, François; Sfreddo, Claudio; Chan, Andy L. J. 2012. “The status of the translation profession in the European Union”. [URL]
Rogers, M. 2015. Specialised Translation: Shedding the ‘non-literary’ Tag. Houndmills Basingstok: Palgrave Macmllan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schmitt, Peter A.; Gerstmeyer, Lina; and Müller, Sarah. 2016. Übersetzer und Dolmetscher– Eine internationale Umfrage zur Berufspraxis. Berlin: DBÜ Fachverlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thelen, Marcel. 2013. “Facing New Challenges: Updating the Training Curriculum”. In CIUTI-Forum 2013. Facing the World’s New Challenges. The Role of T &I in Providing Integrated Efficient and Sustainable Solutions, ed. by Forstner, M.; Garbovsky, N., and Lee-Jahnke, H., 227–254. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2016. “Professionalisation in the translator training curriculum”. In Translation and Meaning. New Series, Vol. 21, Part 2, ed. by Bogucki, Ł.; Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, B.; and Thelen, M., 117–142. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
The Optimale Employer Survey and Consultation. 2012. [URL]
Translating Europe Forum [URL]
TransCert [URL]
Torres-Simón, Esther; and Pym, Anthony. 2016. “The professional backgrounds of translation scholars. Report on a survey”. Target 28 (1): 110–131. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (11)

Cited by 11 other publications

Pattnaik, Binaya Kumar, NK Praful, Rasmita Behera & Debojyoti Moulick
2026. Vermicomposting for waste decomposition and soil health improvement: Risk and challenges. In Waste to Resources, ► pp. 349 ff. DOI logo
Cukur, Leandra
2024. Towards an ethical framework for evaluating paid translation crowdsourcing and its consequences. The Translator 30:1 ► pp. 47 ff. DOI logo
Kaş, Buğra
2024. 21. Yüzyıl Becerileri ve Çevirmen Edinci Bileşenlerinin Kesişimi. Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey Üniversitesi Uluslararası Filoloji ve Çeviribilim Dergisi 6:1 ► pp. 68 ff. DOI logo
Lesznyák, Márta, Mária Bakti & Eszter Sermann
2024. Reading takes it all? – the role of language competence and subject knowledge in legal translation. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 18:2 ► pp. 192 ff. DOI logo
Cásedas, Luis, María J. Funes, Marc Ouellet & Mercedes García de Quesada
2023. Training transversal competences in a bachelor’s degree in translation and interpreting: preliminary evidence from a clinical trial. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 17:2 ► pp. 193 ff. DOI logo
Li, Lan, Qinran Dang & Ke Zhao
2023. Embracing transdisciplinarity to prepare for the future: revisiting the gap between the labour market and translator education. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 17:3 ► pp. 454 ff. DOI logo
Ramírez-Polo, Laura & Chelo Vargas-Sierra
2023. Translation Technology and Ethical Competence: An Analysis and Proposal for Translators’ Training. Languages 8:2 ► pp. 93 ff. DOI logo
Iacono, Katia & Barbara Heinisch
2022. Übersetzer*innenplattformen als Auftragsmanagementtools – Implikationen für die Translationsdidaktik. In Translation im Wandel: Gesellschaftliche, konzeptuelle und didaktische Perspektiven [TRANSÜD. Arbeiten zur Theorie und Praxis des Übersetzens und Dolmetschens, ], ► pp. 159 ff. DOI logo
LAVNIKOV, OLEH, HANNA LESHCHENKO, LIUDMYLA MAKSYMENKO, ARTUR STANISHOVSKYI, NATALIIA VOVCHASTA & OLGA SHELIUKH
2021. FORMATION OF THE FUTURE TRANSLATORS INDIVIDUAL STYLE. AD ALTA: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research 11:2 ► pp. 6 ff. DOI logo
Parra-Galiano, Silvia
2021. Translators’ and revisers’ competences in legal translation. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies 33:2 ► pp. 228 ff. DOI logo
Kim, Hoonmil
2020. How interpreter-translators are assessed and hired in the market. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation 66:4-5 ► pp. 689 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 14 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue