This paper discusses 'employability' in Translation Studies in the UK. After a review of current practice and developments, I suggest an adapted working framework that can be applied by Translation and Interpreting Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). I will argue that no single prescribed model can be applied to all institutions but that a holistic and collaborative approach is needed for a realistic implementation of employability practices in the curriculum.The context of the research on which the paper is based is the current conversations between HEIs and industry stakeholders. Efforts have been made to bridge the gap, but, according to recent studies, graduates still seem to be lacking certain professional service provision skills that are needed in industry. Employment has become a major concern in Higher Education as few will have a job for life given the current economic environment. Hence, graduates today are better placed if they have been encouraged to develop flexibility and adaptability. HEIs must thus now also address employability skills which, as the paper explains, have come to mean more than just finding employment. The research reported in the paper derives from an evaluation of the University of Portsmouth's Master in Translation Studies where employability and enterprise skills are embedded, and are examined critically in the light of the new context.
Automation is affecting all spheres of our daily lives and humans are adapting both to the challenges that it poses and the benefits that it brings. The translation profession has also experienced the impact of new technologies with Language Service Providers adapting to changes (Presas/Cid-Leal/Torres-Hostench 2016; Sakamoto/Rodríguez de Céspedes/Evans/Berthaud 2017). Translation trainers are not oblivious to this phenomenon. There have indeed been efforts to incorporate the teaching of digital translation tools and new technologies in the translation classroom (Doherty/Kenny/Way 2012; Doherty/Moorkens 2013; Austermühl 2013; O’Hagan 2013; Gaspari/Almaghout/Doherty 2015; Moorkens 2017) and many translation programmes in Europe are adapting their curricula to incorporate this necessary technological competence (Rothwell/Svoboda 2017). This paper reflects on the impact that automation and, more specifically machine translation and computer assisted tools, have and will have on the future training of translators and on the balance given by translation companies to language and technological skills.
Digital technologies in the translation profession have given rise to the use of automated Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools and Machine Translation (MT), and Translation Service Providers are embracing these innovations as part of their workflows. Higher Education Institutions are also transforming their curricula to adapt to the changes brought about by technology (
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