Press Release

Strong demand for translators in financial and legal services

25 October 2005

Translators and interpreters specialising in finance, IT and legal services are the busiest in the profession, with demand expected to remain at the same level in the future. It is also predicted that the requirement for language services will rise in both the tourism and public-service sectors.

The results of a survey of language and cultural service providers, published today by CILT, the National Centre for Languages, highlight the extent to which these business sectors draw on expertise from translators, interpreters, language trainers and cultural-briefing consultants. The survey shows an overall increase in demand for translation services as well as a growing trend towards localisation and cultural-training services, while demand for language training is decreasing.

French, Spanish and German are currently the languages most in demand from businesses commissioning language services. Providers registered on CILT’s BLIS Professionals database expect Chinese to replace German in the top three and Spanish to overtake French as the most sought-after language.

Isabella Moore, Director of CILT, the National Centre for Languages said:

‘We know that businesses and organisations who invest in language expertise perform better than those who don’t. The trends identified in this survey further highlight the value of professional language and cultural services to the business community and the important role they play in supporting the UK economy.’

Businesses looking for an insight into how using professional language services can help overcome language and cultural barriers are invited to attend a free International Communication event hosted by CILT as part of the CIPD annual conference in Harrogate this Thursday (27 October).