By

POSTED: Sunday, November 02, 2008

When Ana Ancheta came back to Honolulu after a more than three-year stint working in Germany's hospitality industry, she thought her bilingual skills easily would lead to a job in her home state.

However, it was 1993 and Hawaii was reeling from the collapse of the Asian economy and the bursting of a bubble economy. Despite Ancheta's unique language skills, she was forced to pound the pavement in search of a job.

“;It was really tough,”; Ancheta said. “;The hotels were laying people off, they weren't hiring and here was Ana, a local girl who spoke more German than English.”;

What a difference a decade makes. Hawaii's tourism sector is once again in a downward cycle and hotels and other visitor-dependent businesses are laying off personnel. However, this time around, fewer bilingual staffers are on the chopping block. Ancheta now works as a linguist for Hilton Hawaiian Village, where her skills are highly prized by management for the advantages that they bring in this increasingly competitive global market.

  As the economy suffers in the U.S. and Hawaii, many businesses are hedging their bets by marketing their products and services to the world. And, as global business becomes more important, companies are beginning to realize that employees like Ancheta or skilled freelance translators and interpreters can position them for greater success by helping them to better understand each culture and its communication.

Accurate translating and interpreting is crucial for businesses that want to succeed in today's global economy, said Jiri Stejskal, president of the American Translators Association, the largest group of translators in the United States which represents more than 10,000 translators and interpreters stationed in more than 90 countries.

The translation industry is booming while other parts of the economy are suffering, Stejskal said last week while in Honolulu to participate in a five-day conference hosted by the Association for Machine Translation in the Americas.

In the past 10 years, the $11 billion translating and interpreting services industry has experienced tremendous growth, increasing at a rate of 10 percent to 15 percent annually, particularly in the areas of Homeland Security, health care and the global marketplace, he said. Despite an abysmal economy, Parade Magazine recently listed translators as the second-hottest job, saying the need will grow by 26 percent in the coming year, Stejskal said.

The revenue at Stejskal's translation and interpreting company, CETRA Inc., which is located outside of Philadelphia, back up those statistics. CETRA grew 47 percent last year and has had a five-year total growth rate of 577 percent, maintaining an average annual growth rate of 53 percent, according to the company's Web site.

“;There is still a desperate need for translators,”; Stejskal said. “;It has become a very profitable career path for someone to explore right now.”;

  Hawaii's companies - from the hospitality industry to real estate to the major corporations and small businesses scattered across the islands - increasingly want to break into the global market.

Hawaii's hospitality industry is more attractive to foreign visitors when it welcomes them in their own language and demonstrates an understanding of their culture, said Ai Lee Wong, who serves as the employee relations/training manager for Hilton Hawaiian Village. Larger companies like Hilton employ so many foreign-language speakers that they have found it helps to have human resources personnel that speak these languages, too, Wong said.

“;Speaking English is not a requirement for hiring in many job categories here,”; she said. “;Housekeeping and landscaping and many other hotel jobs offer new immigrants or people who come from immigrant families a chance to break into the U.S. work force.”;

Once these workers are hired, they must participate in basic English classes offered by Hilton, said Wong, who grew up in Malaysia where she learned to speak and write Malay and speak Cantonese.

Since as many as 30 to 40 percent of the hotel's 1,700 workers are native Chinese speakers, Wong's Cantonese abilities have eased business interaction between management and workers.

“;When I speak their language, it makes them feel more comfortable,”; Wong said, adding that she helped workers transition after the economy necessitated the closing of the Golden Dragon restaurant.

Hilton Hawaiian Village, which employs approximately 370 employees who are bilingual or multilingual to service guests, also uses these talented staffers to brand their marketing across the different countries where they advertise. Sumiko Midorikawa has worked at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the past eight years in sales. A native Japanese speaker, Midorikawa proofs advertising pages and works with the Japanese media to make sure that Hilton's message is being accurately conveyed to the Japan market.

  “;I used to work for a Japanese tour company in Japan and I came to Hawaii on a business trip,”; Midorikawa said. “;I met my husband here and decided to move to Hawaii. My Japanese language skills made it easier to find a job.”;

Hilton is actively recruiting Chinese- and Korea-speaking team members to staff the Grand Waikikian, said Cynthia Rankin, regional director of public relations for Hilton Hotels Corp.

Sachi Braden, owner of the luxury real estate firm Sachi Hawaii Pacific Century, parlayed her bilingual skills into a market niche. Just more than five years ago, Braden opened her boutique real estate firm to cater to a burgeoning market of international buyers. While Hawaii's overall real estate market has begun to lag, demand for international services has allowed her to grow the firm to about 20 agents who speak everything from Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Thai, Lao, French and Spanish.

“;I still want to hire more Chinese- and Korean-speaking real estate agents,”; said Braden, who first identified the need for an international real estate specialty when she worked in retail for Chanel.

“;When you handle international clients, they have experienced the high-end life and they know how to manage English to some degree, but there are cultural differences that need to be met,”; Braden said. “;In real estate, these expectations are even more important.”;

When hiring bilingual or multilingual team members, Braden looks for Realtors that have a strong grasp of foreign languages and understand the culture.

“;Understanding the culture can be the most important element for success,”; Braden said. “;You want to be able to put a client at ease and you never want to offend them.”;

  While HawaIi's bilingual speakers might find careers in translation and interpreting, to be successful in the field, language speakers also must be able to translate concepts and ideas between the languages.

“;Just because you can type does not make you a novelist,”; Stejskal said. “;The same goes for translators and interpreters. Some people are good at translating and communicating concepts, some are not.”;

That's why Darouny Hu, a certified residential specialist at Sachi Hawaii, likes to say that she doesn't translate or interpret for clients - she converses with them. Hu, who is a third-generation Chinese born in Lao, studied at the Sorbonne in Paris prior to moving to Hawaii. She got her Hawaii real estate license in 1993 and has built her 15-year business on catering to international buyers who appreciate her multicultural background.

“;Being able to converse with clients in their native language builds an instant connection, Hu said. We become almost like family.”;

Likewise, Hu's colleague, Nobu Matsumoto, who hails from Tokyo, got his start in real estate in California in the 1970s. Masumoto joined Sachi Hawaii as a broker agent in 2007 after moving to Honolulu. He uses his language skills to helps investors, contractors and developers from the mainland and Japan buy, improve and sell properties in Hawaii.

“;Overall, about 20 to 30 percent of my clients are international; however, in Hawaii, 100 percent of my clients are international,”; Matsumoto said. “;Hawaii's great weather and climate make it an international paradise.”; 

Tale Of Two Jobs

Translators: Work with the written word, transferring text from a source language into a target language. The finished document should read as if it had originally been written in the target language for the target audience.

Interpreters: Work with the spoken word, transferring speech from a source language into a target language. The listeners should hear the interpreted message as if it had been originally spoken in their own language.

  Source: American Translators Association  

Getting started

How to break into the field:

» Students should take a broad range of courses that include English writing and comprehension, foreign languages, and basic computer proficiency. They also should spend time abroad, find connections with foreign cultures and look for opportunities to stay exposed to the culture and language.

» A bachelor's degree is often required; however, interpreters and translators may major in something other than a language. Formal programs in interpreting and translation are available at colleges nationwide and through non-university training programs, conferences, and courses.

» Get experience. Many clients prefer that their language experts have worked in the field for a minimum of three to five years.

» Working in-house for a translation company is a good way to get experience; however, not many jobs are available so it may be necessary for those wanting to break into a career as an interpreter or translator to gain experience through informal or unpaid work.

  Source: American Translators Association

 

Career snapshot

» Career prospects: The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the hiring of interpreters and translators is projected to increase 24 percent over the 2006-2016 decade.

» How many jobs: Interpreters and translators held about 41,000 jobs in 2006.

» Where did they work: Mostly urban centers; however, jobs also were available in rural regions with high percentages of immigrant workers.

» For whom did they work: About 33 percent worked in public and private educational institutions, such as schools, colleges and universities. About 12 percent worked in health care and social assistance, many of whom worked for hospitals. Another 10 percent worked in other areas of government, such as federal, state and local courts. Other employers of interpreters and translators include publishing companies, telephone companies, airlines, and interpreting and translating agencies. About 22 percent of interpreters and translators are self-employed.

» What they get paid: While compensation in the private-sector varies, individuals classified as language specialists for the federal government earned an average of $76,287 annually in 2007. Some highly skilled interpreters and translators - for example, high-level conference interpreters - working full time can earn more than $100,000 annually. Salaried interpreters and translators had median hourly earnings of $17.10 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $12.94 and $22.60. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $9.88, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $30.91.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics and American Translators Association

 

To find jobs

Job banks for translator or interpreter jobs or freelance gigs:

» American Translators Association www.atanet.org

» National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators www.najit.org

» National Council on Interpreting in Health Care www.ncihc.org

» Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf www.rid.org

» U.S. State Department www.usajobs.opm.gov