The topic of apprenticeships, work placements or internships for translators interests me for several reasons, not least because I believe on-the-ground learning alongside more experienced peers is a vital part of education in any field.
But it’s particularly interesting in translation because of the way in which our industry is organised. Most translators work freelance because unless you want to go the civil service route, there are very few inhouse positions for native English translators involving primarily translation work, as opposed to project management, terminology, or other translation-related tasks.
This makes it difficult for newcomers to the profession to find obvious opportunities to learn from their peers.
Yet professional associations and universities can and do already play an important role in plugging that gap, even if the options aren’t as formalised as they are in other industries. When the issue came up at the recent ITI / eCPD Virtual Coffee Morning on International Translation Day 2011, it struck me how unaware many of the participants were of these opportunities. [Read more…]