Transcript The assessor and the assessed

The Role of
the Register and Regulator
TRAFUT Workshop
Lessius University College
Antwerpen, Belgium
20 October 2012
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National Register of
Public Service
Interpreters (NRPSI)
Jessica Myint Thinn
Executive Director
NRPSI
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Interpreting profession in the UK
 Constellation professional entities which are
independent but interdependent of each other
 Educational Bodies
 Membership Organizations
 Trades Unions
 Service Providers
 Practitioners
 Regulator
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Examples of interpreting organizations:
 Association of Police and Court Interpreters (APCI)
 Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL)
 Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI )
 Society of Official Metropolitan Interpreters (SOMI)
 Society for Public Service Interpreting (SPSI)
 National Union of Professional Interpreters and
Translators (NUPIT)
 Professional Interpreters’ Alliance (PIA)
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What is the National Register of
Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI)?
 NRPSI is the UK’s
independent voluntary
regulator for the
interpreting profession
 Protecting the public while
promoting and maintaining
best practice standards is at
our core
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NRPSI and Europe
 NRPSI plays a key role in fulfilling the
requirements of Articles 5 and 6 of the
European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR) ‘the right to be informed in a language
one understands of the reasons for
arrest’ and
‘the right to a fair trial, incorporating the
right to have the free assistance of an
interpreter’
 NRPSI supports the implementation of
European Commission Directive
2010/64/EU, on ‘the Right to
Interpretation and Translation in Criminal
Proceedings’
–To transpose by October 2013 ?
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NRPSI was originally set up
in 1994 in response to:
 The multi-lingual nature of
modern Britain
 Public services’ need to provide
access to all irrespective of
language barriers
 Risks arising to public services
and their clients from employing
unqualified and unaccountable
interpreters
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NRPSI further changed in 2011
 NRPSI became independent
from the Chartered Institute
of Linguists (CIOL) in April
2011 to fulfill its role as an
independent voluntary
regulator
 A company limited by
guarantee with a board of lay
and interpreter members
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NRPSI’s role as a regulator
 Protect the consumer interest, the citizen interest,
and the public interest
 Ensure that good standards within the profession
are consistently maintained for the benefit of the
public and interpreters alike
 Promote the use of only registered professional
interpreters
 Work with other interpreting organizations to ensure
continual improvement and sustainability of the
interpreting profession
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NRPSI’s responsibilities as a regulator
 Prescribe or ‘recognize’ the qualifications needed
to become a professional interpreter
 Maintain the UK Register of interpreters
 Ensure that interpreters meet our standards for
conduct and practice (Registrants are subject to
a Code of Professional Conduct)
 Investigate complaints about an interpreter’s
conduct or competence
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Interpreters on the Register
 Number of Interpreters Registered: Over 2,200
 Number of Languages: 101
 Specialities:
 Law
 Health
 Local Government
 Three levels of admission:
 Full Status
 Interim Status
 Rare Language Category
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Who can Join the Register?
 Minimum age of 18 years
 No maximum age limit but
must be physically able to do
the work
 Eligible to work in the UK
 Must meet criteria for entry
 Must provide a valid security
clearance
 Must abide by the Code of
Professional Conduct
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Code of Professional Conduct
 NRPSI issues a code of conduct for professional
interpreters and keeps it under review
 The code is intended as guidance for interpreters to
ensure best practice in their professional lives
 NRPSI can and does take action through our
disciplinary procedures against those who fall short
of the code’s standards
 This ensures that the integrity of the profession is
maintained, and employers can be confident in
hiring a registered interpreter
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Who uses the National Register?
The Register is available free online and can be
accessed by anyone needing language support
services.
Examples:
Criminal Justice
Police Authorities
Local Government
Health Services
Solicitors
Charities
Public
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Benefits of being on the Register
 Demonstrated interpreter’s commitment to
professional standards
 Guarantee of quality assurance to clients
 Guarantee of accountability to clients
 Interpreter's details are available on the online
Register for potential client contact or confirmation
of registration
 Over 30,000 searches for interpreters a month are
made on our on-line Register
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Using a Registered Interpreter can ensure:
 Confidence in receiving high standard interpreting service
from a qualified professional interpreter
 Assurance of accountability if the interpreter’s conduct fall
below standards
 Peace of mind from working with an interpreter who is
professionally competent
 Protection against unqualified, incompetent and unreliable
interpreters
 Prevention from wastage of valuable time and additional
costs
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Future of NRPSI
 To better perform its existing services and develop its
scope to fulfill a regulatory role
 To recognize continuing professional development
(CPD) programmes
e.g. video conference interpreting and etc.
 To ensure appropriate professional indemnity
insurance (PII) is in place
 To monitor whole profession including activities of
service providers
 To collaborate and work with partner organizations
 To share knowledge and lessons learnt
e.g. harmonization and interlinking of standards
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We are stronger together!
 Only with the support and collaboration of our
colleagues, can we work to establish and maintain
sustainable development of the interpreting
profession.
 Interpreters
 Clients of interpreting and language support services
 Public services (police, courts, health services, local
authorities & etc.)
 National interpreting organizations
 European and international interpreting
organizations
 Government (s)
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Thank you
National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI)
Further information:
 Website:
www.nrpsi.co.uk
 Email:
[email protected]
 Tel:
+44 (0) 20 7940 3166
Jessica Myint Thinn
[email protected]
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