The Growth of the Translation Industry

In the 21^st century, cross-cultural communication has brought about numerous changes and challenges, particularly for those providing language conversion methods.  A report released last week by the website careerbuilder, has placed translation and interpretation services as the fastest growing industry in the United States in terms of job growth. Despite advancements in technology, machine translation has failed to overturn human translation services, with the demand for professional translators now higher than ever.

The interpretation and translation industry has been left undeterred by the current worldwide economic instability. According to the report, the recession-proof industry is expected to add about 12,400 jobs between 2014 and 2019, projecting a 36% increase. One of the main reasons this particular sector has been shielded from economic downturn is globalization.  As companies continue to think globally, the need for these services will be on the rise. Nowadays, an increasing number of corporations and governments must be able to regularly communicate with existing and potential clients, business partners, and even employees based in other countries. This often requires several languages to be employed simultaneously to translate confidential information, something highly-regarded corporations would not entrust computer software with.  Additionally, regular users of translation services are aware that the logic and reasoning skills of humans cannot be matched by machine translation.

Globalization has also led to market growth. Translation in continental Europe was one predominantly centered around the “FIGS” (French, Italian, German, and Spanish,); Japanese, Chinese and Korean were the only Asian languages to speak of. Now, European Union bureaucrats must find ways to communicate in more than 20 different tongues, and the once neglected languages of Southeast Asia, such as Indonesian and Vietnamese matter more as these emerging markets become increasingly important. Because of this, translators can be found in every industry, ranging from manufacturing to political and pharmaceutical.

The success of the translation industry is ever growing, and will remain so as it continues to help bridge the communication gaps between clients and business worldwide. High-growth companies that offer a suite of language services will thrive in this niche profession thanks to their early understanding that in a global economy, clear and concise communication is everything.

This article was published in the 2014 edition of HQ magazine, a publication of CSOFT International. If you’re interested in learning more about CSOFT’s globalization and localization solutions, don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed for automatic updates from Simply CSOFT!