FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Olga Gashi

When Olga Gashi arrived in Ireland she instantly fell in love with the country. Since then she has set up a successful translation service. She tells Niamh MacSweeney why she hasn't looked back and the way forward for the industry

In 1994 Ireland was the only country in the EU with a negative migration rate. However, five years later and that had all changed when the annual net migration rate was the second highest in the EU. Migration into Ireland has accelerated in a short timeframe and a new, diverse and multicultural population is clearly visible in our cities and towns. The fact that there are a growing number of languages being spoken in Ireland augers well for the future of linguistic services in the country, as translators and interpreters strive to meet growing demand.

One female, award winning entrepreneur who has taken the interpretation and translation service in Ireland by storm is Olga Gashi. Originally from Russia she first came to Ireland in 1996 as a student. She instantly fell in love with the emerald isle and decided to stay.

THE DRIVING FORCE

A linguist by profession she initially worked for other translation service providers. However, both she and her husband found many serious issues that weren’t being addressed by other service providers. In particular Gashi was perplexed as to why translation and interpretation service providers in Ireland were not initiating professional training for their translators. She also found there was no code of practice being used by agencies employing interpreters. The fact that these issues weren’t being addressed was the driving force behind the husband and wife team setting up Word Perfect Translations. They believed they could do better and since the business started trading in 2001 they have proved themselves a powerful force to be reckoned with in linguistic circles.

STRUCTURED TRAINING

Now with ten full time staff and over 3000 interpreters and translators nationwide Gashi and her team provide translation and interpretation services to a number of clients. “Many of our clients are from the public sector such as the Garda Síochána, the court services, hospitals, both private and semi-private, airports and prisons. But we also cater for a lot of private clients and a lot of large corporate entities such as banks and solicitors,” she explains.

Word Perfect Translations also have a number of multilingual interpreters and according to Gashi finding foreign speakers isn’t really a problem for the company. However, organising a structured training programme for interpreters and translators did pose certain difficulties in the beginning because the facilities simply weren’t available.

Gashi admits that the lack of training courses and the absence of proper codes of practice required her to innovate in order for practical training to become common place in the industry. “Many of the educational establishments that we had contacted appeared to be too academic. There was very little practical purpose behind those courses and no basic code of practice, so eventually we found ourselves designing our own structured monthly course with Dublin City College,” the pragmatic entrepreneur reveals.

STATE OF THE NATION

With the influx of immigrants arriving in Ireland you would be forgiven for thinking that the demand for non-English speaking translators and interpreters has never been greater. But in reality according to Gashi the demand has always been there, rather it is the state of the nation that has changed. “We used to primarily cater for refugees and asylum seekers coming over to Ireland, whereas now most of our requests would be coming from the foreign migrant workers that had either come here on a work permit or because new succession countries came into the EU,” Gashi says. She reiterates that it is in fact the state of the nation that has changed considerably in recent years and that this element dictates its own demands.

IMPROVING SERVICES

Gashi agrees that the training and standards in the translation and interpretation service in Ireland have been neglected and there is enormous potential for improvement. “This is the area that has been very poorly regulated,” she says, adding “there is only one professional body that exists in Ireland, the Irish Translators and Interpreters Association and so far the guidelines and structures are fairly vague for the development of this professional industry.”

Gashi argues that there needs to be clarification and a code of practice imposed on those involved in the linguistic profession. “Many people still seem to look at it as simply speakers of a different language, whereas a community interpreter is a very specific profession and you have to have certain skills and abilities to do this job. Therefore professional training is extremely important,” she informs.

The area of interpretation is very versatile and because translators are often required to translate simultaneously, as is usually the case at District Court proceedings, it is crucial that proper training is given so that the translator can confidently deal with each specific situation. Another issue is that the industry dictates specific demands and while it may be easy to find a translator it can be more difficult to find one qualified in a highly specialised skill or profession such as medical interpretation.

EMBRACING LANGUAGE

Although traditionally Irish people have not always been renowned for their linguistic abilities, Gashi believes this is changing and she commends the approach taken with the Irish language and efforts to ensure its survival. “The emphasis has always been on learning in terms of grammar and structure, whereas now they are really emphasising actually speaking the Irish language and I think that is the main thing,” she says.

Gashi thinks that Irish people are more accepting and open-minded to the various languages being spoken in the country. When she first arrived in Ireland in the mid-nineties she was hard pressed to find fellow Russians, now she says they are in abundance. “Because the state of the nation is changing so rapidly and because Ireland has been exposed to so many multilingual aspects I think the concepts to language will change and many young people will be a lot keener on learning languages,” she says optimistically.

From its inception, Word Perfect Translations has received no funding and has in fact been self-sufficient from the start. Gashi is a linguist by profession and her husband is qualified in management and employee relations. Combining their skills and talents has proved very beneficial to their business acumen and their determination and get-go attitude has seen them excel in business in Ireland. Gashi is adamant that her nationality never posed any particular entry barriers into the world of business. Instead she matter-of-factly announces she endured the same problems that every emerging entrepreneur faces; she tried to do everything herself and taking a step back was the most significant hurdle she encountered.

GROWING THE BUSINESS

Expansion is very much on the cards at Word Perfect and simultaneous to running and growing the business, Gashi is working as a trainee solicitor. Last year she was admitted to the Law Society and at present is doing her apprenticeship in order to qualify. According to Gashi there is plenty of scope for what she can do with her legal qualification and says it not only complements her work, but having legal knowledge is also of huge benefit for her running an enterprise.

FITTING THE MOULD

When asked to describe her entrepreneurial spirit Gashi says that is a difficult question to answer because the definition of an entrepreneur is something that she still struggles with. While she might not have thought of herself initially as somebody who would fit that definition she certainly fits the description of an entrepreneur who is not afraid to take risks and her drive and determination indicates she has many entrepreneurial attributes. “An entrepreneur doesn’t want to be second best and has a certain vision of what they want to do in the future and simply goes for it. When you are in that environment it is quite contagious; if you like it you will always like it and if you hate it you will always hate it. So far I am really loving it,” she declares.

Published in the October 2007 Issue of Irish Entrepreneur