Plenty of career opportunities for amateur Japanese language professionals also as bi-lingual experts
NEW DELHI/PUNE: The Indian nationals proficient in the Japanese language out of hobby or passion and without formal training or certification, can look forward to professional opportunities and shape their career as bilingual experts in interpretation, translation realm, or in their own domains.
As bilateral relations between India and Japan continue to register upsurge in all fields, such as arts, culture, language, education, travel, defense, trade, and industry with huge investment coming to India, the bi-lingual professionals are in high demand.
According to Siddharth Deshmukh, Co-founder and President, Indo-Japan Business Council (IJBC), language interpretation or translation was not about diploma or certification or passing of certain examinations but about proficiency in the language.
IJBC of Konnichiwa Pune fame is going to launch a Bilingual Experts Directory, the most extensive database of bilingual experts in Japanese and Indian languages, on April 1.
“Though this directory is for the professionals who are proficient in Japanese and other Indians languages including English, with some proven professional qualification in language as well as in their domain areas, those who learned the Japanese language as a passion or hobby and are proficient in speaking, reading and writing it, can also register and look forward to being hired by their potential employers on a regular or freelancing basis,” he added.
Deshmukh said that IJBC may also come up with a certification course in the future for those who learned the Japanese language without any formal training or certification but carried good knowledge of the language.
Deshmukh, the founder of Shimbi Labs in Japan, himself attained proficiency in the Japanese language without attending any formal school or acquiring a formal diploma or certification. His company hires professionals proficient in the Japanese language.
“IJBC which is a bi-lateral Chamber synergizing India-Japan engagement in business, trade, commerce, education, and culture between the two countries, invites bilingual experts to register, share their expertise on this directory on https://www.ijbc.org/bilingual-experts.html, and we will open up this to the industry to hire them. And there is no cost to it, anyone of any age is welcome,” said the IJBC president.
“Despite the fact that the bilingual professionals are in high demand, this industry is highly unorganized. In today’s scenario, if any organization, company, or individual wants to hire these experts it’s difficult as they are scattered and mostly work through references. A lot of effort is needed to find these people, and if you find them they are experts only in language but not in the domain area, and vice versa. If someone is not good in interpretation, or translation but he or she is an engineer. So, far there have not been any concentrated and organized efforts done in this regard. And this is what made our plan for a Bilingual Experts Directory,” he told Asian Community News (ACN) Network.
The launch of the Bilingual Experts Directory is part of the year-long events IJBC is organising to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the India Japan diplomatic relations during the current year 2022.
While reasoning this decision, Deshmukh said that Japan has chosen to stick to its own language and most of the Japanese speak the Japanese only. It means when they have to communicate with anyone in the outside world, they either learn English or depend on interpreters to communicate. So, the people who know Japanese, and more languages like English play a key role to bridge these two nations.
While details about the directory he said that there was no subscription fee for now for the applicants but they needed to be responsive else their names would be removed from the directory. They should keep updating their profiles besides responding to the industry queries. However, the directory is for the Indian professionals based in India but the agencies, organizations, or individuals sourcing for bi-lingual experts could enjoy these services from any part of the world including India.
“We already have more than 200 bilingual candidates registering for the directory. And anyone in the industry such as agencies hiring professionals, or schools offering training to the candidates on translation can also register. We are creating an ecosystem so that everyone benefits and, it offers a win-win situation for all. Even teachers freelancers or regular, both can register to be hired either by the schools or by the individuals,” the IJBC president clarified.
