By Michael Radano, Director of Employment, Language and Social Enterprise, and Mischa Milne, Communications Coordinator
For newcomers to Canada, translation services play an essential role in the transition to an unfamiliar home. For everything from legal documents to professional certifications, the work of translation professionals is crucial to the settlement process.
Alvaro Almeida, a soccer coach and physical education teacher from Brazil, heard about MOSAIC through friends after arriving in Canada in 2016. While they first recommended MOSAIC’s Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) classes to help him improve his English, Alvaro also wanted to continue the coaching and teaching career that he had trained for in Brazil.
That’s where MOSAIC’s Interpretation and Translation Services (I&T) team came in. Translation staff helped Alvaro translate his educational and professional certifications that were essential for his application to the BC Teacher Regulation Branch.
“Without MOSAIC’s translation services, I wouldn’t be able to start, continue, and finish the process of being able to work in Canada – I wouldn’t have been able to get any sort of equivalency or certification in this country.”
September 30 marks the United Nations’ International Translation Day, which pays tribute to the work of language professionals who play an important role in bringing nations together, facilitating dialogue, understanding and cooperation, contributing to development and strengthening world peace and security.
MOSAIC’s Translation Services provides linguistically and culturally appropriate translations in over 60 languages and 40 alphabets, including the translation of commercial, legal and personal documents. As one of the largest translation and interpretation agencies in British Columbia, MOSAIC’s Interpretation and Translation Services is a member of professional bodies such as the L’ Association de l’Industrie de la langue: Language Industry (AILIA) and the American Translators Association.
By engaging certified, accredited or otherwise credentialed interpreters and translators, MOSAIC maintains a very high standard of service for clients in both the public and private sector. One of its many accolades includes being named the 2018-19 winner of the Canadian Lawyer Readers’ Choice Award.
The COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to impact the financial situation and service provision of the translation and interpretation industry. MOSAIC is very grateful to its numerous customers for continuing to purchase its services, and to its staff and contractors for ensuring that access to legal, medical, social and/or commercial services is unimpeded.
For more information about MOSAIC’s Interpretation and Translation Services, please visit www.mosaicbc-lsp.org/.
