Polish speakers required to translate labels

A UK-based company which translate labels for worldwide export are looking to recruit new Polish and English linguists.

Nottingham-based betterlanguages.com – providers of translation services for companies including Mothercare, New Look and Weetabix – are experiencing a chronic shortage of skilled and qualified native speakers of the two languages.

It is desperate to hear from qualified English speakers who can translate another world language into perfect prose.

Betterlanguages.com currently employ a network of 150 linguists based all over the world. But the company – one of the UK’s fastest growing translation providers – needs more to help meet burgeoning demand.

Its biggest single client is Mothercare International which accounts for one quarter of all business. betterlanguages.com translate all the chain’s own brand goods including packaging materials, instructions, user guides and labels. Mothercare currently trade in 48 countries and betterlanguages.com translate English into nine other languages for them including Chinese, Greek and Polish.

But now MD Mike Hunter has made an appeal for more qualified translators to get in touch and send him their CVs.

He said: ‘Skilled and qualified translators are always hard to come by but Polish linguists in particular are like gold dust.

‘We’ve got one very good Polish translator but if she’s not available then we do struggle.

‘That may surprise some people who encounter a growing number of Eastern Europeans living here in the UK but we need to hear from people with very specific skills and qualifications.

‘They must be members of a recognized professional translator association either in their home country or here. They must also have a relevant degree or post graduate level qualification.

‘Often they will have a first degree in languages and a second degree or diploma in translation. I’m also interested in hearing from individuals who possess particular technical knowledge, perhaps a first degree in engineering followed by a diploma in linguistics.

‘The work we do requires a very high level of attention to detail as we will not sign off on a project until we’re absolutely certain we’ve nailed it.

‘Sometimes we have arguments in the office about how best to translate one word. Such discussions can go round and round but we don’t give up until we’re certain we’ve got it.

‘You need that level of tenacity to be a really good translator – you need to be like a dog with a bone. It’s surprisingly easy for exact meaning to get lost in translation.

‘Our translators must be able to think laterally at times and employ real creativity. I’m certain there are some good translators out there that we don’t know about.’

If you would like to contact Mr Hunter visit the company’s website www.betterlanguages.com