Council helps break down language barriers

Fourteen multi-lingual residents have just completed a new 15-hour course which was delivered by the Workers’ Educational Association and organised by the council with cash from the national Migration Impact Fund.

Herefordshire’s influx of migrant and seasonal workers has boosted the demand for interpreting and translation services.  In particular, schools, council services, hospitals, housing and the police have been struggling with increased demand for experienced linguists.  The council has responded to this by developing a network of local people who can provide these services.   The new training programme has been offered to members of this network to help make sure standards are consistent.

Harriet Yellin, Herefordshire Council, said: “We have many multilingual people in the county who carry out informal interpreting, but this course helps students to understand the different interpreting techniques, and the ethics involved in providing such a crucial service.  Breaking down language barriers helps promote community integration and has positive benefits across the board.“

“Thanks to a successful bid by the council, we will be able to offer more of these courses over the next few months and continue to develop our language network for local businesses and public services to use.

The course has been funded by money from a migrant worker levy which will fund a further two courses this financial year.