The BBC announced on Wednesday that unemployment in Britain has risen to its highest level since 1994. With nearly a million of those unemployed being young people aged between 16 and 24, including language graduates, could freelance translation work offer one solution?

Freelance translation work provides employment opportunities not only for young people - such as graduates and postgraduates - but also mature students and people who have been out of work for a long time. Many employers are being forced to cut budgets and are not in the position to offer jobseekers full time work. Working freelance allows individuals to gain vital experience on top of a flexible income, giving businesses the opportunity to assess the benefits that freelancers bring without committing themselves to permanent employment.

Freelance Translation Work

Most translation companies, like Transcription Global, rely heavily on work by freelance translators to support the business. These freelance translators work for the translation companies on a regular ad-hoc basis, but the experience can be richly rewarding. It gives them time to undertake hobbies or secondary employment if they wish, but it also builds up their work-based experience so that they are a much more attractive candidate when it comes to finding full-time work.

However, freelance translation work doesn't have to be a precursor to full-time work. Some people prefer to continue with freelance translation work because of the reasons outlined above, whilst many also find that working from home complements their living situation. For housewives or single parents particularly, working from home is much more convenient than being in an office all day, and they often find that morale and productivity is higher as a result.

If you are a fully-qualified translator or transcriber looking for freelance translation work, and you have legal, medical or market research experience, please call 01772 252 333 or email info@transcriptionglobal.com to find out more.

Image from A. Blight