Scholarship bid to boost language services with 450 young translator and interpreters

NSW’s ageing translator and interpreter workforce is about to get a fresh injection of young blood, with the government deploying a new multicultural careers adviser to seek out talented teens.

The state’s multiculturalism agency is recruiting fresh blood for its language services by employing a careers adviser to seek out bilingual teens in a bid to refresh its ageing workforce.

The first-of-their-kind adviser will work with high school and university students fluent in both English and “high-priority” languages to hook them up with the Interpreting Scholarship Program, the NSW government’s $8 million effort to train 450 young translators and interpreters.

The students will benefit from full or partially funded education, registration and mentoring to prepare them for nationally-accredited careers, Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said.

“We need to increase our interpreting ranks, especially with people that speak languages from new and emerging communities that weren’t prevalent five or 10 years ago,” he said.

“With more and more people speaking a language other than English at home, and people needing help accessing services or information, we should be empowering those that can speak a second or third language with these opportunities.”

The median age of the interpreter workforce is 50, 10 years above the national average — and ageing unsustainably.

Scholarship graduate Dora Onesemo, 42, works part-time as a Samoan translator and interpreter for the police, courts and Service NSW helping community members with little English pass their driving tests.

Samoan translator Dora Onesemo. Picture: Supplied

Scholarship hopeful Joseph Macrae. Picture: Supplied

Ms Onesemo looked into becoming an interpreter more than a decade ago, but said at the time it was too costly and confusing, and would have required her to take time off her job as a NSW Health multicultural program officer.

“In 2021, I saw the scholarship program forwarded to me from other colleagues,” she said.

“Because I’m still a New Zealand citizen and can’t access government support like HECS … it was a perfect opportunity to use my Samoan language skills.

“Because I work in health services, I knew that there weren’t many interpreters available.”

Ms Onesemo said many of her fellow Samoan interpreters were retired or nearing retirement, and she supported the plan to inject fresh talent into the pool.

“I don’t think at the moment we have any young interpreters in our language,” she said.

“It’s a big bonus for the industry and for the young people that get in, because it gives them flexibility.

“This will be … a side (job) that will help you develop professionally and personally.”

Few teenagers are as enthusiastic about the program as 18-year-old Japanese speaker Joseph Macrae, who has already applied for the 2023 intake straight out of his HSC year.

“All my life I really struggled with a feeling of disconnection between my cultures, I’m half Vietnamese and half caucasian,” he said.

“My Vietnamese grandparents couldn’t really speak the best English so I’ve always experienced that barrier, and I’ve always wanted to bridge that disparity for other people.”

During his Year 12 studies, Joseph spoke to people in ethnic communities and was startled by the clear need for more language engagement, but he believes young interpreters can be part of the solution.

“There was a really high percentage of people who couldn’t understand what was happening in the community because there was no translating or interpreting available,” he said.

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