B2B Markeplace

You would have to be blind to not see that many types of jobs have left America. But while this trend has been visible for at least a decade, translation firms are experiencing an increase in demand.. Most industry insiders will admit that demand is solid for people with advanced linguistic skills from the following countries: Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia and China. But while demand for services like Chinese Interpretation is increasing, it is at the cost of industrialized nations that are experiencing large losses in the number of high-skill service jobs that are being relocated to developing nations. Because we all know people who have lost their jobs due to offshoring, more and more lawmakers and media sources are spending more time to address these issues.

Can Translation Jobs Be Outsourced?
Offshoring can be defined as organizational activities that were previously performed internally and are now provided by external agents. In an interview with The New York Times, an owner of a Portuguese to English Translation agency stated, “Outsourcing appears to work contrary to the claim that free trade will create the jobs of tomorrow in America when high-tech or high paying white-collar jobs are transferred to or created in foreign countries.” The most common reason given to why a company invested in offshoring is to capitalize on labor expenses. If the primary purpose isn’t to reduce costs, then most companies will suggest that they are offshoring in order to be closer to new markets, be in compliance with certain regulations or even be closer to particular types of workers. Interestingly enough, while skilled service jobs are being relocated to third world countries the demand for Russian Interpretation services appears to be consistent and perhaps even growing. However, we think it is important for everyone to recall that offshoring is driven my global trade initiatives and helps facilitate the development of world economies. Since the sudden and significant growth in outsourcing began, several important changes in the business environment in the late 1990s facilitated the emergence and rapid growth of services offshoring, including the offshoring of activities with significant engineering and medical content. Some examples include Medical Translation professionals, Electrical Engineers, Aerospace Engineers and more. These changes have been made possible due to advances in information technology, an increase in the demand for certain types of technical skills, and the emergence of appropriately skilled, low-wage workforces in India, China, and elsewhere.

As we journey forth into a new decade, we will continue to hear politicians, economists and victims of job losses criticize the lack of action taken to thwart offshoring. In addition, we should expect the trend to enter into the field of engineering and medicine the same way it entered the US manufacturing sector. Thinking back almost 20-years, I remember the names of many people who publicly denounced offshoring and the results that it would have. Others counter that offshoring is a benign trend that enables U.S.-based companies and entrepreneurs to develop and market innovations more quickly and cost effectively.

Will Language Translators and Interpreters Be Next?
While it appears that domestically located language translation agencies are profiting at the expense of the American workforce, several language translation trade associations are offering different opinions. If the offshoring trend continues, it is highly likely that more and more translators and interpreters jobs will be exported to low price markets. In fact, a German Translation organization recently produced a report that argues that long-term U.S. leadership in science and engineering is now at risk. With every day, it seems that a growing number of translators and interpreters become increasing concerned about jobs being lost to third world countries. If developing nations can offer workers who have strong Language Translation, Science and Engineering backgrounds then ability for the US to maintain its competitiveness will be in danger. Consequently, while the US is losing medical and engineering services, it is also losing translation jobs but at a much slower rate.