RecordMove

Interpretation agency manager to sign language interpreter

An interpretation agency manager already meets 42% of what the sign language interpreter role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From interpretation agency manager

Partial match

To sign language interpreter

11 You already bring

7 Still to learn

31 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

56.4/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a sign language interpreter is expected to do is already part of an interpretation agency manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the sign language interpreter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A sign language interpreter role treats 7 of its required skills as things an interpretation agency manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

grammar
linguistics
preserve original text
show intercultural awareness
speak different languages
translate language concepts

What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sign language interpreter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an interpretation agency manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held translate spoken language simultaneously communication, collaboration and creativity
already held interpret spoken language between two parties communication, collaboration and creativity
already held translate spoken language consecutively communication, collaboration and creativity
already held preserve original text communication, collaboration and creativity
already held translate language concepts communication, collaboration and creativity
already held linguistics arts and humanities

All 11 carried skills, including the 7 the sign language interpreter role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 20 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 arts and humanities 3 required, 5 supplementary

still to learn communication related to hearing impairment required
still to learn semantics required
still to learn sign language required

optional, not held fingerspelling optional
optional, not held lipspeaking optional
optional, not held voice interpreting optional
optional, not held body language optional
optional, not held court interpreting optional

02 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 4 supplementary

still to learn translate texts required
still to learn translate spoken language required

optional, not held interpret languages in conferences optional
optional, not held analyse text before translation optional
optional, not held communicate using non-verbal language optional
optional, not held write scientific publications optional

03 health and welfare 1 required

still to learn hearing disability required

04 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required

still to learn screen reader required

05 information skills 2 supplementary

optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
optional, not held consult information sources optional

06 assisting and caring 1 supplementary

optional, not held support people with hearing impairment optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a sign language interpreter role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 11 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held grammar knowledge
already held linguistics knowledge
already held preserve original text skill
already held show intercultural awareness skill
already held speak different languages skill
already held translate language concepts skill
already held translate spoken language simultaneously skill
already held interpret spoken language between two parties skill
already held scientific research methodology knowledge
already held translate spoken language consecutively skill
already held write research proposals skill

The 1 learning area not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 working with computers 1 supplementary

optional, not held use word processing software optional

13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held fingerspelling optional
optional, not held interpret languages in conferences optional
optional, not held lipspeaking optional
optional, not held voice interpreting optional
optional, not held analyse text before translation optional
optional, not held body language optional
optional, not held communicate using non-verbal language optional
optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
optional, not held consult information sources optional
optional, not held court interpreting optional
optional, not held support people with hearing impairment optional
optional, not held use word processing software optional
optional, not held write scientific publications optional

31 held skills the sign language interpreter role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
not needed by the target role assess quality of services skill
not needed by the target role assume responsibility for the management of a business skill
not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
not needed by the target role chuchotage interpreting knowledge
not needed by the target role customer relationship management knowledge
not needed by the target role develop a translation strategy skill
not needed by the target role follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities skill
not needed by the target role interpreting modes knowledge
not needed by the target role lead a team skill
not needed by the target role liaise with colleagues skill
not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
not needed by the target role liaise with government officials skill
not needed by the target role manage a good diction skill
not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
not needed by the target role manage office facility systems skill
not needed by the target role master language rules skill
not needed by the target role motivate employees skill
not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
not needed by the target role perform bilateral interpretation skill
not needed by the target role perform sight translation skill
not needed by the target role perform sworn translations skill
not needed by the target role phonetics knowledge
not needed by the target role preserve meaning of original speech skill
not needed by the target role project management knowledge
not needed by the target role provide advocacy interpreting services skill
not needed by the target role spelling knowledge
not needed by the target role tape transcription knowledge
not needed by the target role technical terminology knowledge
not needed by the target role unseen translation knowledge
not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill

10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn communication related to hearing impairment required
still to learn hearing disability required
still to learn screen reader required
still to learn semantics required
still to learn sign language required
optional, not held fingerspelling optional
optional, not held lipspeaking optional
optional, not held voice interpreting optional
optional, not held body language optional
optional, not held court interpreting optional

Index

Other moves recorded from interpretation agency manager

Full index of moves from interpretation agency manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an interpretation agency manager become a sign language interpreter?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An interpretation agency manager already covers 42% of what a sign language interpreter is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 7 of which the sign language interpreter role treats as required.

What skills does an interpretation agency manager need to become a sign language interpreter?

7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is translate texts.

How hard is the move from interpretation agency manager to sign language interpreter?

Its learning distance is 56.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.