From ‘what do they mean’ to ‘what does it mean’:

In consideration of an interpreter’s career trajectory and professional development

NAME OF TRAINER: Robyn Dean

Description:
Interpreting is a low-agency job. That is, as interpreters we have little ‘standing’ within the setting’s jurisdiction and among those service professionals we work alongside. Working in a low-agency job also means that our contributions, efforts, our successes, and failures often occur without a knowing witness. There are few who can provide “testimony” to our work.

Perhaps many of us became interpreters due in part to the low-agency nature of the work – we like working alone, behind the scenes, or being a fly on the wall.

Yet, as we age and move through proposed stages of career development, we might find the low-agency nature problematic. O’Neil and Bilimoria (2005) proposed that at the late career stage of reinventive contribution (~age 45 to 65), we begin to review and take stock of our careers, seek further opportunities to add value, and further our professional growth.

Two problems emerge when low-agency work intersects with reinventive contribution:

1) The low-agency nature of the work confounds the question of contribution.

2) Continuing professional development CPD offerings do not take stock of or seek to counterbalance the low-agency effects of the work. As such, the developmental needs of career review and continued growth becomes a challenge for late-career interpreters.

This presentation explores the application of transformational learning (Mezirow, 2004) and job crafting (Wrzesniewski, et al., 2013) as a  means of supporting mid-to-late-career interpreters. Both frameworks offer interpreters more options as they account for their career contributions and seek further growth and opportunity.

Objectives:
1. Define low-agency, career plateau types, and the stages of career development
2. Explain the mostly formative nature of CPD offerings which are more suitable to early and mid-career interpreters.
3. Explore some ways in which transformational learning and job crafting can be used in CPD opportunities for interpreters

LANGUAGE OF DELIVERY: ENGLISH (with interpreters)

DURATION: 3.5 hours

PRE-COURSE ACTIVITY? Yes!

RECORDED: No. I have a version of the presentation that is 40 minutes long that I could share if someone, booked, paid and ended up not being able to attend for urgent reasons.

POST TRAINING MATERIALS? Yes, PPTs and reflection questions

CPD POINTS:  Structured 3.5, possible 7 hours (with pre-work and follow up reflection questions)

CANCELLATION POLICY:  no refunds but you can transfer your place to another person and arrange payment with them. Please email southwest@asli.org.uk to confirm your swop.