sional. On the other hand, they don’t quite
yet know how to recognize it all the time,”
Benhoff said, adding that although transla-
tion and interpretation are becoming more
popularized, clients don’t always know
how to find quality linguistic profession-
als or even how to distinguish quality from
rubbish.
In response, AILIA has played a key role
in certifying translation and interpretation
providers to ensure consistency and qual-
ity across the industry. Certification adds
an additional barrier to entry as well. “We
are setting benchmarks for quality with ac-
creditation,” Bendana said.
Part of the success behind this initiative
lies with AILIA’s ability to bridge the gap be-
tween business and academia, specifically
the integration of students into the labour
market. Many of the board members of
AILIA are actively involved with academia,
which allows academia to understand the
requirements of real-life industry.
Benhoff said, “I think we’re starting to
break down the walls, which is very impor-
tant because when you hire people, they
have to be ready for the work and if they
don’t even have an odor of what it smells
like when they get out of university, it’s
a long time coming before they’re really
“People think that if you speak the language, you’re able to translate and
interpret. That is absolutely amiss. You have to have certain credentials in order
to do that.” Lola Bendana, president
SEPTEMBER 2016
H
business elite canada
5
