The role of the community interpreter is becoming increasingly important, particularly in regions with many minority linguistic communities. The community interpreter acts as a bridge between these communities and the public services, enabling people to access services and situations which would otherwise not be possible.
This qualification enables speakers of other languages to develop the language and skills necessary to go on and train as community interpreters at Level 3 and Level 4. As with the Level 1 Award in Understanding Community Interpreting, this qualification is not a training course to become an interpreter, and those undertaking paid assignments in the future will be expected to have achieved as a minimum the Level 3 Certificate in Community Interpreting.
This qualification will allow you to understand how to go about getting voluntary bilingual work and support you in optional voluntary placements, enabling you to gain experience prior to undertaking higher level study in community interpreting.
You will look more closely at some of the aspects of language and other skills that you need to be successful on community interpreting training schemes. You will develop personal skills such as assertiveness and listening skills which will support future study and work as community interpreters. There will also be an opportunity to further develop awareness and knowledge about public services in the UK.
