A local company, Veritas Language Solutions Ltd, is creating employment opportunities designed specifically for language graduates in the area.
The expansion of the business to include a new sister company, Veritas Talk, will open up a number of employment opportunities for Swansea graduates who have studied languages. Veritas Talk is a multilingual telecommunications agency that will offer companies customer service facilities in a range of languages. The company’s directors, Sharon Stephens and Rachel Bryan, are now keen to offer their vacancies to language graduates who are struggling to find work due to the current economic climate.
Sharon and Rachel studied together at Swansea University, obtaining first class honours degrees in translation. They graduated in June 2009 and immediately set up their translation and interpretation agency, Veritas Language Solutions Ltd. Since then the business has gone from strength to strength and has seen huge growth. Veritas already employs over 1000 translators worldwide but in the coming months will open a number of vacancies for in-house staff and interns.
As previous language students themselves, Sharon and Rachel understand how difficult it is to find language-related jobs in the Swansea area. This is why they are specifically looking for graduates with language degrees. Rachel says “graduates with good foreign language skills are highly valuable and we want to make the most of their expertise”. Some positions have already been filled by graduates with particularly extensive skills and experience, although many more will be opening up. The Veritas internship scheme will offer graduates vital experience of the translating industry and give them a first step onto their future career ladder.
This is not the first time that Veritas has worked closely with universities. When the company was first set up it operated from an office on the Swansea University campus and a large proportion of its clients were foreign students who needed official documents to be translated and essays to be proofread. As the company grew it was forced to move in to larger offices in Swansea City Centre to accommodate more staff. However, Sharon and Rachel have not forgotten the support they received from the University and are doing all they can to give something back to the students there.
As well as creating graduate jobs, Sharon and Rachel have returned to the University to give talks about careers in the translating industry, and to help train students with the skills they need to work in the industry. Students were given practice in running their own translation agency, with Sharon and Rachel posing as customers and providing them with translations and deadlines. Sharon says “the students really benefited from the work we did with them as it gave them a taste of surviving as a translator in the real world and prioritising the customer above everything”.
Rachel Bryan, creative director of Veritas, is also currently studying for a masters degree in translation with language technology and in doing so is maintaining the strong links that Veritas has always had with the university. Rachel believes that education is the key to success, and her studies in terminology harmonisation, second language acquisition and pharmacological term formation will help Veritas to provide a more accurate and specialised service, with a deeper understanding of their customer.
Any graduates fluent in a foreign language who are interested in an internship with Veritas should contact Sharon or Rachel on 08458 878487 or [email protected]
