Interpreting & Translation - Clients

We know that accuracy, understanding, and impartiality are essential attributes for any organisation looking for interpreting and translation services. Since 1988, SWIIS have been perfecting these skills and more to provide you with a first class interpreting and translation service tailored to meet your exact requirements.

Comprehensive coverage

Our comprehensive language coverage helps you enjoy clear and consistent communication with many different service users. This will have the added benefit of increasing their confidence in your organisation and facilitate social inclusion by improving access to your services.

With over 1500 interpreters and translators on our register, we are confident of matching you with the language skills you require. Apart from covering all Western and European languages, our coverage extends to: all the main Asian languages, a number of African languages and Arabic. Whatever your language needs, you've come to the right place.

Because our interpreters and translators have experience of working within a variety of settings, you can be sure that we will match your requirements with someone who has familiarity with your working environment.

Settings where we provide interpreters and translators include:

• Local authorities
• The Courts
• Police
• Prisons
• Legal and advisory services
• Industrial and immigration tribunals
• Health Service
• Customs
• Probation areas
• Schools

The vast majority of our interpreters and translators hold a relevant qualification in the shape of the Diploma in Interpreting and Diploma in Translation. In addition, they will be a member of at least one of the professional bodies such as the Institute of Linguists (IoL), the Institute of Translators and Interpreters (ITI) or the Association of Police and Court Interpreters (APCI).

Where an interpreter and/or translator does not hold a relevant qualification, as may be the case for certain Asian and African languages, we apply an extended experience and reference check as part of their recruitment.

When it comes to making the right language match, we don't compromise. Even where we have someone available who is both qualified and experienced, we would rather decline an assignment if we feel we are unable to meet our own high expectations, and more importantly, yours. What this means is that with SWIIS as your preferred service provider, you can look forward to enjoying consistently high standards.

Offering you maximum flexibility, our interpreters operate both face-to-face and by telephone 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year - providing you with peace of mind in an emergency.

With the vast majority of our interpreters originating from the country whose first language they are fluent in, this provides them with a clear understanding of the cultural context of your service users sharing the same language. This allows our interpreters to skilfully interpret questions and answers from English to another language and vice versa, impartially and accurately.

Importantly, the sharing of language and culture with service users allows our interpreters to respond with the degree of sensitivity called for especially where vulnerable individuals are involved. This includes areas such as child protection, mental health, immigration and asylum.

With the launch in the UK and Europe of SWIIS Telephone Interpreting Service public and private sector organisations can now reap the benefits of improved cross-language communications. Enhance your customer service whilst potentially reducing your costs. About our new service:

• Billed by the second at only 2 pence per second
• Pay only for the interpreter time you use
• Available 24/7 and 365 days a year
• Immediate access – no booking required
• Over 150 languages available
• Environmentally friendly – no travelling
• Dialcard for ease of use

The launch of our new Telephone Interpreting Service complements our existing range of face to face interpreting, sign language and translation services. 

More information on SWIIS Telephone Interpreting Service, with applications across nearly every conceivable market sector, and our other range of Language Services, please contact:

David Forbes ( 0121 633 5710

david.forbes@swiis.com

Translating your documents tells your service users that you care about their needs and want to understand them. It also enables them to participate as active and inclusive members of the local community.

At SWIIS our approach of providing a translation service is simply this: - to craft a translation that is a true reflection in both style and meaning of the original.

Our translators are first and foremost writers with the creative flair to produce consistently accurate text that reads as smoothly and naturally amongst the target audience as the original English. From an audience of one to many, our ability to accurately craft translations comes from allocating assignments only to those translators sharing the same language and who have familiarity with the environmental context in which the translation is to take place.

What we can provide

Translations can be carried out on a range of documents from English into another language or vice versa. These include:

• Legal documents
• Procedural documents
• Newsletters
• Application forms
• Direct mail
• Press releases
• Websites

As well as direct translation, we can also proof-read texts originating from elsewhere, verifying them for accuracy and consistency to convey the precise meaning you require.

For many customers we know that flexibility is an important requirement demanded from their translation supplier. At SWIIS, we have the capacity to accommodate a range of timescales, including urgent requests, depending on the complexity and volume of the material involved.

Translation Policy

Each assignment is supervised by a designated project manager who will be your primary source of contact. Your project manager will agree a translation brief with you covering issues relating to presentation, costings, timescales and the target audience. Our aim is to build a successful partnership where we become a valued and trusted member of your team with the ability to deliver projects as agreed with complete satisfaction.

At SWIIS, we are committed to providing translation material that is:

• Grammatically correct and spell checked
• Easily understood by the target audience
• Undertaken by a person whose first language is the same as that required
• Truthful to its English original, without being a literal translation

Where appropriate, we will agree to generate a glossary of common terms. In this way, we can obtain the key terms that are essential to any translation project.

To ensure complete confidentiality, all our interpreters and translators are bound by non-disclosure agreements.

To maintain our reputation as a provider of high quality translators and interpreters, we adhere to a strict recruitment policy. This not only provides clients with peace of mind, but also by valuing people's skills ensures we attract the right calibre of person committed to the highest levels of ethics and professionalism

The interpreters and translators SWIIS provides must meet the following criteria:

Qualifications

• Language on offer must be their first language.
• Educated to at least university level.
• Have a formal linguistic qualification recognised by the professional bodies of the industry such as the Diploma in Translation and/or Diploma in Interpreting.
• Be a member of professional bodies such as the IoL, ITI, or the APCI.
• Where the individual concerned does not originate from the UK, professional qualifications from other European linguistic professional bodies will be acceptable.
• Due to the lack of qualified translators and interpreters for certain African and Asian languages, an extended experience and reference check will be applied.

Work experience

• All our interpreters and translators have to provide a minimum of 3 references and evidence of paid assignments undertaken.
• We require at least 3 years proven experience of interpreting and/or translation. In rare cases, we will make exceptions for exceptional candidates.

Technical Ability

• All translators must be fully conversant with Microsoft Office with spellcheckers for their respective source and target languages
• All translator's PC must be installed with up-to-date anti-vrus software.
• To ensure fast responses and the meeting of deadlines, all translators must be contactable by email, fax, telephone or mobile.