Emerging economies translate into recruitment boom
LANGUAGE specialist The Translation People is recruiting linguists at a record rate, fuelled by increased activity among UK firms in emerging economies.
Companies focused on growing their exports and developing their global operations have triggered a surge in translation projects across the so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) and VISTA (Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey and Argentina) economies over the past 12 months.
During this period, Translation People has seen an 82% surge in demand for translations involving Brazilian Portuguese.
Russian has witnessed growth of 31% while Vietnamese and Indonesian have each risen by 20%. Other significant risers in emerging economies include Latin American Spanish (+12.75%) and Turkish (+7%).
Translation People has also seen demand soar among UK clients with interests in the Middle East. Translations into Arabic have surged 48% in the period.
The company, which has its headquarters in Cheadle Hulme, has also expanded its capabilities by recruiting translators for projects in languages which are lesser-known in the UK, such as Mongolian, Northern Sotho – spoken primarily in South Africa – and Telugu, Kannada and Oriya, which are spoken in India.
Translation People is adding 15 translators to its global network each month. Most translations involve English, but the firm is also seeing a big increase in requests where the original language is French and German.
Managing director Steve Wilde said: “We have added significantly to our languages portfolio over the past 12 months, and to the language combinations we can provide.
“The recruitment drive reflects demand from our clients, which in turn demonstrates the continued rise in British exports and the development of UK companies’ operations in emerging economies.
“Much of the new work is coming from exporters requesting translation of marketing material, websites and contracts, and from businesses that require corporate communications and health and safety documents to be translated for plants and operations overseas.
“Our stringent recruitment policy means all of our translators are carefully vetted to meet our exacting standards and the requirements of clients specialising in sectors such as engineering, healthcare, finance and legal.
“In all, we now have the ability to supply translators for more than 300 language combinations and we expect this surge in demand to continue as the BRIC, MINT and VISTA economies grow further,” he added.
