THE TRANSLATOR AND INTERPRETER PROFILE IN INTERNATIONALIZATION PROCESSES: THE CASE OF THE SPANISH ICEX GRANT PROGRAMME

Abstract

During the last few years, translators and interpreters’ employability has been studied, especially when the education reform of the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) seems to challenge universities to better respond to the professional prospects of graduates; guiding them towards a certain profession or field of professional performance. Many studies have addressed these issues, though with some critics in terms of representativeness of their conclusions (Calvo 2006). Nevertheless, it is true that a new educational paradigm was introduced in University education. However, this changing paradigm seems not to have reached yet other spheres, for instance, the labour market, as this paper will present.

This paper aims at reflecting on the need of the labour market to better adapt to this change, taking as a starting point, and focusing on translators, interpreters and international communication experts, the recruitment policy of candidates for the internationalization grant scheme of the Spanish ICEX (Instituto de Comercio Exterior, Foreign Trade Institute). Finally, this paper aims at contributing to the reflection on the translators and interpreters professional profile, looking for a greater consolidation of the profession into the labour market.