Public service interpreting and translation: employability, skills, and perspectives on the labour market in Spain

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the past ten years, employability has been one of the key issues in translation and interpreting (T&I), both in professional practice and in academic settings. However, very few studies focus specifically on the employability of the graduates in the Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT) sector. This article focuses on the latter in a postgraduate programme taught in several language pairs in Spain. Its objectives are to identify aspects that characterise the graduates’ professional situation within the PSIT labour market, to analyse the graduates’ perception regarding the training received and its applicability to the labour market, and to identify tendencies and differences by language pairs. The results, based on a questionnaire sent to eleven cohorts of graduates, will be used to assess the extent to which the programme prepares for market needs, to analyse adaptation possibilities, and provide information that can be useful for programmes that involve several language pairs. Moreover, programme designers, researchers, and PSIT employers can also benefit from the differentiation of the findings by language pairs, which shows different interests within the labour market, and the reflection on skills that may affect employability in the T&I sector.