Asiye Öztürk and Naile Sarmaşık

Tech Tools for Terps: Are They Ever Going To Be Available?

Today, working environment and employment patterns have been reshaped in industry 5.0 as a result of globalization and technological advancements occurring at an unprecedented pace. Industry 5.0 is characterized by integrating human resource together with artificial intelligence and technology, and it is described by the European Union, as empowering workers, as well as addressing the evolving skills and training needs of employees (European Commission & World Economic Forum). In this dynamic landscape, translators and interpreters encounter various challenges that require new skillsets. Besides mastering core translation and interpreting competencies, translation and interpreting students must acquire soft skills such as creative and analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, agility, etc. to be career-ready for the profession and the market. This descriptive study explores career readiness and career adaptability levels of translation and interpreting students in Türkiye with respect to employability development in undergraduate programs. Fourth-year undergraduate students at the translation and interpreting departments of four different universities were asked to fill in four questionnaires (Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS), Career Resources Questionnaire (CRQ), translation competencies questionnaire, interpreting competencies questionnaire). Such an exploratory study will be helpful for identifying shortcomings in employability development in education and provide a fresh viewpoint for curriculum designs or revisions.

Assist. Prof. (Ph.D.) Asiye Öztürk Yaşar University, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences Department of English Translation and Interpreting

Asiye Öztürk completed her BA in the Department of English Translation and Interpreting at Hacettepe University in 2009. In 2012, she received her master’s degree in English Translation and Interpreting at Hacettepe University. She completed her PhD in Cognitive Science at Middle East Technical University in 2018. She pursued her academic career at Atılım University between 2009 and 2018. She started working at Yaşar University as a part-time lecturer in 2018, and as of 2023, she is working as a full-time academic at Yaşar University. Her research areas are translator and interpreter training, cognitive and neuroimaging studies in interpreting. 

Assist. Prof. (Ph.D.) Naile Sarmaşık Atılım University, School of Arts and Sciences Department of English Translation and Interpreting

Naile Sarmaşık completed her BA in the department of English Language and Literature at Ankara University in 2004. She received her master’s degree in English Translation and Interpreting at Hacettepe University in 2008. She completed her Ph.D. in the Department of English Culture and Literature at Atılım University in 2016. She works as a full-time academic at the Department of English Translation and Interpretation in Atılım University since 2009. Her main fields of interest include children’s literature, fantasy literature, and translation technologies. She is also a practicing translator and translated children’s books and popular science books.