By Carolyn Rance
Investment in technology; workforce expansion, and tender presentation is paying off for the Victorian Interpreting & Translating Service, a state government business enterprise with more than 30 years' experience as a specialist language services provider.
Last financial year was its busiest ever, with a new contract to provide services to Victoria's Departments of Health, Human Services, Education and Early Childhood Development and Victoria Police and retention of a significant contract to provide services to VicRoads.
Zsuzsanna Lesko-Flach (right) with VITS interpreting feedback and support officer Karuna Reger.
VITS competes for contracts with private sector language service providers and, in his annual report, chief executive George Bisas said on-site interpreting, telephone interpreting and translations services all recorded their highest levels of demand.
By June last year, VITS had serviced 59 per cent more on-site jobs than in the previous financial year and increased its number of interpreter-connected calls by 33 per cent.
As well as state government departments and agencies, clients include local councils, energy and utility companies and law firms.
Core staff includes managers, administrative staff and booking officers. VITS' panel of more than 2000 interpreters and translators are self-employed contractors. They are fluent in around 140 languages and almost all have gained professional accreditation or recognition from the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).
Zsuzsanna Lesko-Flach, contractor management co-ordinator, says when new languages emerge in Victoria's culturally and linguistically diverse community, VITS seeks and recruits people from those language groups to join its team.
"NAATI cannot test every language but it provides recognition to people who speak new and emerging languages and have proficiency in English. It can sometimes be difficult to find someone who speaks English and a new community language and we use various channels to locate them." When someone suitable is found — and this can sometimes take months — references must be checked to ensure they can interpret to a professional standard.
Interpreters come from varied backgrounds. Some have studied interpreting and translating either in their country of origin or once they have arrived in Australia. Others have gained their skills less formally. VITS encourages them to undertake further education and training and they can apply to Victoria's Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenships for scholarships.
"It is not just about message transfer, it is also about how you can work with people from different backgrounds. Interpreters work to the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) codes of ethics and conduct. It is their role to provide accurate interpretation and not to explain or provide guidance during the conversation," says Lesko-Flach.
She grew up in Hungary, where she studied English, international relations and education, and worked on a European Commission- funded exchange program for young tradespeople. She spent five years working with Microsoft's training department in Ireland and then as a recruitment specialist and resource manager with multinational translation company Welocalize.
When she and her partner decided to move to Australia, she researched companies that were likely to use her skills. When she contacted VITS she discovered they were recruiting for the position she now holds.