Scholarship applications are now open for people who speak in-demand languages to become qualified practicing interpreters.
Minister for Multiculturalism Natalie Ward said the NSW Interpreter Scholarship Program is supporting the training of up to 100 interpreters this year, as part of a commitment to train 400 new interpreters over four years.
“Our interpreters are the voice of our multicultural society and have played a critical role in making sure our communities receive high-quality public health advice during the COVID pandemic,” Mrs Ward said.
“We are calling on NSW’s next generation of interpreters. I urge anyone who speaks the priority languages and is interested in a career in interpreting to apply for the latest round of this outstanding scholarship program.”
Priority languages include Croatian, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Lao, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Nepali, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Swahili, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.
The scholarship recipients will benefit from subsidised world-class training at UNSW through an online course.
Course graduates will then be eligible to apply for entry to the Certified Practicing Interpreter level with the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.
The NSW Government has invested $650,000 over four years to train up to 400 interpreters as part of the NSW Interpreter Scholarship Program.
Expressions of interest for new and emerging languages are open until 11.59pm Friday, 5 November.
