Translation profession and translator certification system in Turkey

Translation profession, one of the oldest professions in the world with its history dating back before common era, has become a more in-demand and prominent profession, especially after the 20th century. For this reason, both translators and translation profession have become research topics, the role of translator education, translation and publishing world and translator in this world, the position, the working conditions of translators and the problems they are experiencing, the process and development of the profession, quality standards and sectoral developments have started to be discussed and investigated. This study examines the situation of translation profession in our country in accordance with the criteria of professionalization including such titles as training facilities, professional organizations, professional ethic rules and procedures and certification and especially focuses on the certification which has not yet been implemented. Extensive work is carried out within the National Qualification System, one of the main pillars of which is the measurement and evaluation of qualifications by the Vocational Qualification Authority (VQA) in Turkey. Within the framework of the National Qualification System, the only stage that has already been completed in our country is the establishment of the national standard for translatorship. Following this stage, the national qualifications related to the profession will be completed and revealed. The final phase of the process is the assesment and evaluation of the national qualifications. Though there is no specific application for the assesment and certification for the profession currently, legal regulations specifying the general criteria and conditions that certification bodies should meet have been set up. For this reason, the focus of the study is translator certification, and applications in different countries within this respect were investigated. In addition, how the translation certification system can be carried out and applied in our country according to the stakeholders of the commission established by the VQA in order to carry out the activities required for the translation profession within National Qualitification System, has been searched via a 14-question interview form. Findings were blended with the practices around the world and discussed. Keywords: Translation profession, Certification, Translator Certification System,Certification Exam, Professionalization, Vocational Qualification Authority, Translator Association