Addressing employability and enterprise responsibilities in the translation curriculum

Abstract

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.

Fostering Employability through Versatility within Specialisation in Medical Translation Education

“…Authors such as Vandepitte (2009), Calvo et al (2010, Thelen (2016) or Galán-Mañas (2017, among others, argue that the competences needed for employability can be summed up in two key concepts: entrepreneurial competence and interpersonal competence. However, an increasing number of scholars (Pym 2005;Kelly 2007;Morón 2016;Morón/Medina 2016;Calvo 2017;Rodríguez 2017;etc.) also highlight the need to focus on cross-disciplinary competences and to identify new professional profiles so as to make Translation Studies more flexible. The idea is to foster the students' ability to develop the new skills they may need in a constantly changing labour market (Montalt 2011; European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education 2015).…”

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The current increase of automation (Rodríguez 2017;Massey/Wieder 2018) and the emergence of new needs and forms of communication are triggering substantial changes in the translation profession, in the role of the translator and in translator education. Previous studies (Muñoz-Miquel 2014 have shown the rich variety of tasksbeyond those traditionally considered -that medical translators perform in the workplace, including heterofunctional translation, editing, or community management.

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Translation and Interpreting as a Profession: Some Proposals to Boost Entrepreneurial Competence

“…However, these are limited, since they do not include most of the issues identified in Table 1. Despite the fact that entrepreneurial competence as such does not seem to have a space 'of its own' in the main TC models, an increasing number of studies address employability with a view to fostering entrepreneurship among students (Vandepitte 2009, Chouc/Calvo 2010, Thelen 2016, Way 2016, Calvo 2017, Rodríguez 2017, Galán-Mañas 2017. These works refer mainly to initiatives of a curricular or extracurricular nature, such as internships, real translation assignments and professional tasks, seminars by professionals and career fairs.…”

“…In line with this view, with reference to Spain, an increasing number of authors criticise the excessive rigidity of the profiles proposed in the White Paper on the TI Degree 1 and advocate fostering transversal competences to be able to respond to emerging and diverse professional tasks (Pym 2005, Kelly 2007, Morón/Medina 2016, Calvo 2017, Rodríguez 2017.…”

“…Although specialisation has traditionally been considered one of the most effective ways to enhance employability (Henter 2016, Álvarez-Álvarez/Arnáiz-Uzquiza 2017, more and more authors argue instead for promoting generic and transversal competences (Pym 2005, Kelly 2007, Morón/Medina 2016, Calvo 2017, Morón 2017, Rodríguez 2017 to foster students' versatility (Morón 2012, Muñoz-Miquel et al 2017) and ability to adopt new perspectives (Montalt 2011) in response to changing market needs. In this regard, students are also expected to be aware of the range of professional profiles they can pursue thanks to the competences acquired during the Bachelor's Degree in Translation and Interpreting (TI), and to be able to "generate new work settings in response to emerging social needs" (Calvo 2017: 152, my translation) in which their skills represent an added value (Morón 2017).…”