Cover not available

Article published In: FORUM
Vol. 24:1 (2026) ► pp.37–58

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

Volunteer conference interpreting

Its possible benefits and place in the training journey towards professional interpreting

ORCiD logo with link | Heriot-Watt University
Published online: 30 October 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/forum.25011.cho
Abstract
Universities are  keen to enhance employability skills in graduates to address a perceived skills gap and volunteering may provide a solution (Barton, Emma, Elizabeth Bates and Rachel O’Donovan. 2019. “That extra sparkle’: students’ experiences of volunteering and the impact on satisfaction and employability in higher education”. Journal of Further and Higher Education 43 (4): 453–466. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Ellis Paine, Angela, Stephen McKay and Domenico Moro. 2013. “Does volunteering improve employability? Insights from the British Household Panel Survey and beyond”. Voluntary Sector Review 9 (4): 355–376. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), explored here as part of the conference interpreting training journey.
The case-study, using a sample of thirty practising conference interpreters who all engaged in Volunteering Conference Interpreting (VCI) at some point, drew from a mixed-method data collection : participants reflected on the part played by VCI, either in  or post-training, through a questionnaire and interviews, to establish whether they saw any benefit or issues with the practice, when it seems most timely and how academia can support a beneficial and ethical engagement with VCI.
Based on this case study, VCI is deemed valuable, providing academia plays its part to ensure it is done ethically and with the profession in mind.
Résumé
Les universités subissent une pression croissante pour améliorer les compétences professionnelles des diplômés, afin de combler ce que les industries perçoivent comme un déficit de compétences. Le bénévolat est considéré comme une solution possible (Barton, Emma, Elizabeth Bates and Rachel O’Donovan. 2019. “That extra sparkle’: students’ experiences of volunteering and the impact on satisfaction and employability in higher education”. Journal of Further and Higher Education 43 (4): 453–466. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Ellis Paine, Angela, Stephen McKay and Domenico Moro. 2013. “Does volunteering improve employability? Insights from the British Household Panel Survey and beyond”. Voluntary Sector Review 9 (4): 355–376. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Il est donc pertinent d’examiner son utilisation dans le cadre de la formation à l’interprétation de conférence. Cet article se propose ainsi d’analyser le rôle que le bénévolat pourrait jouer dans l’amélioration cette formation.
Pour évaluer la pertinence de cette pratique controversée, une étude de cas a été menée auprès d’un échantillon de trente interprètes de conférence professionnels ayant tous participé, à un moment ou à un autre, à des missions d’interprétation de conférence bénévole (VCI, volunteer conference interpreting). Une méthode mixte de collecte de données a été utilisée : les participants ont réfléchi à l’importance de ces expériences, soit pendant leur formation, soit après l’obtention de leur diplôme — à travers un questionnaire et des entretiens complémentaires. L’objectif était de déterminer s’ils percevaient des avantages ou des inconvénients à la VCI, à quel moment de la formation elle semble la plus pertinente, et comment le monde universitaire pourrait contribuer à en soutenir une pratique constructive.
Malgré certaines réserves, la VCI est considérée comme une expérience d’apprentissage formatrice par les professionnels interrogés, même si le milieu universitaire a un rôle clair à jouer pour garantir que cette pratique profite réellement aux interprètes de conférence en formation et, plus largement, à la profession.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • i.Employability
    • ii.Motivations
    • iii.Ethical considerations and timing
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Analysis and discussion
    • i.Types of volunteering experiences
    • ii.Motivations
    • iii.Volunteering undergone in conjunction with academic studies
    • iv.Volunteering undergone post-graduation
    • v.Learning benefits and training relevance
    • vi.Perceived limitations related to the academic learning environment
    • vii.A contentious practice
    • viii.Impact on career planning
    • ix.Timing VCI during the learning journey
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
References (31)
References
Andrews, Jane, & Higson, Helen. 2008. “Graduate Employability, ‘Soft Skills’ Versus ‘Hard’ Business Knowledge: A European Study”. Higher Education in Europe 33 (4): 411–422. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Antonini, Rachele, Letizia Cirillo, Linda Rossato and Ira Torresi. 2017. Non-Professional Interpreting and Translation: State of the Art and Future of an Emerging Field of Research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barton, Emma, Elizabeth Bates and Rachel O’Donovan. 2019. “That extra sparkle’: students’ experiences of volunteering and the impact on satisfaction and employability in higher education”. Journal of Further and Higher Education 43 (4): 453–466. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Basalamah, Salah. 2020. “Ethics of volunteering in translation and interpreting” in The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Ethics, 227–244. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baker, Mona. 2006. “Translation and Activism: Emerging Patterns of Narrative Community.” The Massachusetts Review 47 (3): 462–84.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blandy, Sarah. 2019. “Enhancing employability through student engagement in pro bono projects”. International Journal of Clinical Legal Education 26 (1): 7–45. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Boéri, Julie. 2008. “A Narrative Account of the Babels vs. Naumann Controversy.” The Translator 14 (1): 21–50. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Buckley, Alex. 2015. UKES 2015: Students’ perceptions of skills development. York: Higher Education Academy. [URL]
Chouc, Fanny and Jose Maria Conde. 2016. “Enhancing the learning experience of interpreting students outside the classroom. A study of the benefits of situated learning at the Scottish Parliament”. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 10 (1): 92–106. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clark, Gordon, Rebecca Marsden, J. Duncan Whyatt, Leanne Thompson and Marion Walker. 2015. “‘It’s everything else you do…’: Alumni views on extracurricular activities and employability”. Active Learning in Higher Education 16(2): 133–147. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dyson, Sue, Liang Liu, Olga van den Akker and Mike O’Driscoll. 2017. “The extent, variability, and attitudes towards volunteering among undergraduate nursing students: Implications for pedagogy in nurse education”. Nurse Education in Practice (23): 15–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis Paine, Angela, Stephen McKay and Domenico Moro. 2013. “Does volunteering improve employability? Insights from the British Household Panel Survey and beyond”. Voluntary Sector Review 9 (4): 355–376. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gamble, Natalie, Carol-Joy Patrick and Deborah Peach. 2010. “Internationalising work-integrated learning: creating global citizens to meet the economic crisis and the skills shortage”. Higher Education Research and Development 29 (5): 535–46. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goodman, Suki and Ginny Tredway. 2016. “Antecedents of perceived graduate employability: A study of student volunteers in a community-based organisation”. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/ SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 42(1), a1315. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Handy, Femida, Lesley Hustinx, Chulhee Kang, Ram Cnaan, Jeffrey Brudney, Debbie Haski-Leventhal, et al. 2010. “A cross-cultural examination of student volunteering: Is it all about résumé building?”. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 39(3): 498–523. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Helyer, Ruth and Dionne Lee. 2014. “The Role of Work Experience in the Future Employability of Higher Education Graduates”. Higher Education Quarterly 68 (3): 348–372. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hillage, Jim and Emma Pollard. 1998. Employability: Developing a framework for policy analysis, Research Brief 85, London: Department for Education and Employment.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Holdsworth, Clare and Jocey Quinn. 2010. “Student volunteering in English higher education”. Studies in Higher Education, 35 (1): 113–127. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Holdsworth, Clare. 2010. “Why Volunteer? Understanding Motivations For Student Volunteering”. British Journal of Educational Studies 58 (4): 421–437. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2017. “The cult of experience: standing out from the crowd in an era of austerity”. Area 49 (3): 296–302. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jackson, Denise. 2015. “Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice”. Studies in Higher Education 40 (2): 350–367. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kiraly, Don. 2005. “Situated Praxis in Translator Education.” New Trends in Translation Studies: in honour of Kinga Klaudy, Kristian Károly and Ágota Fóris (eds.), Budapest: Akademiai Kiado: 117–138.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Konak, Abdullah, Tricia K. Clark, and Mahdi Nasereddin. 2014. “Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle to Improve Student Learning in Virtual Computer Laboratories.” Computers and Education 721: 11–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lave, Jean, & Wenger, Etienne. 1991. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ng, Thomas W. H., & Feldman, Daniel C. 2009. “How broadly does education contribute to job performance?”. Personal psychology, 621: 89–134.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rae, David. 2007. “Connecting enterprise and graduate employability. Challenges to the higher education culture and curriculum?”. Education+Training, 49 (8/9): 605–619.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tymon, Alex. 2013. “The student perspective on employability”. Studies in Higher Education 38(6): 841–856. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
York, Mantz. 2004. “Employability in the undergraduate curriculum: Some student perspectives”. European Journal of Education, 39 (4): 409–427.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yorke, Mantz. 2006. Employability in higher education: what it is — what it is not. York: Higher Education Academy.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wilton, Nick. 2012. “The impact of work placements on skill development and career outcomes for business and management graduates”. Studies in Higher Education 37 (5): 603–20. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue