By Emma Sills, Z/P VRS Interpreter
One critical aspect of the interpreting field involves the training of future interpreters. This is integral and is even noted in our NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct. When a student graduates from their Interpreter Training Program (often a two or four year degree), they will often face competing advice from mentors. There are those who believe that VRS is a safe place for new graduates, with the training offered providing a lot of 1-1 mentoring, the ability to call a team promptly, and other support. Then there are those who feel that VRS is not a safe place for new graduates. VRS is a grueling environment, taking rapid back-to-back calls without context or time to prepare for the impending content.
When I joined ZP back in 2021, I passed the screening, then went through 40 hours of New Hire Training with a qualified trainer who taught me the system as well as provided feedback on my product. All of this happened before I took any live calls. After that, I got another 32 hours of extended training where I took live calls with a qualified Video Interpreter the entire time. They were there to team and feed where needed, provide feedback, and improve my service to our callers.
Throughout the years, ZP has offered a few programs for people who narrowly miss a passing score on the screening. Previous programs have given 6 weeks of additional training to help improve interpreter’s skills to help them pass the screening and become successful VRS interpreters. However, this program has been updated to reflect the company’s true priorities.
Now, the standards are different. While interpreters who pass the screening are receiving the same 40 hours of New Hire Training (NHT), upper management is not allowing the maximum of 32 hours of extended training anymore. Interpreters who do not pass the screening are being funneled into an alternate program, called an Apprenticeship, that focuses only on one incoming call type and only receives two weeks (less than 80 hours) of training before taking live VRS calls.
For Sorenson and ZP, they will always choose profit over people. These companies recruit current students and newly graduated interpreters who are eager for hands-on experience, feedback and mentoring and tell them that this Apprenticeship will give them just that. Then, they exploit new employees by depriving them of the appropriate training and eyes on their work. By the time that I was working on the system completely alone, I felt very well prepared and equipped to take calls. However, that is not how many of these new trainees feel. After being released to work independently, they are left unsupervised and face long hold times to get the support they need.
In my center, many of these new hires in the Apprentice program do not feel supported and do not feel that they are receiving the direct feedback they need to make substantial improvements. These companies are advertising this position as an Apprenticeship–one that they are told will be monitored/teamed, working consistently with mentors in order to receive personalized feedback that will improve their skills and prevent harm to our callers. Instead, they’re getting thrown into the work without the oversight of a qualified interpreter who can step in when necessary.
That in and of itself impacts our Deaf and hearing users. Many of our Deaf users are in the dark about the company’s introduction of this program and the huge growth that it has had recently. However, many of our Deaf users who use our services for business or professional reasons and primarily receive calls with Apprentices have been the ones speaking up due to the “poor quality” of interpreters they are getting. This is concerning as it has the potential for immediate and long lasting implications for our Deaf users’ jobs, reputation, and communication needs. It also breaks the essential trust between VRS companies and our callers that is already strained due to a history of corporate fraud issues.
To be clear: these Apprentices believe they will be paired with a qualified interpreter and receive personalized, consistent feedback on how to improve their work. They are led to believe this will be a teamed position with a mentor, working in a relatively safe way to get critical training before being allowed to work on their own. The company misleads them into taking this Apprenticeship only to deprive them of the training and support they need, underpay them and force the same amount of work from them as they do from fully trained and paid Video Interpreters.
As the VRS interpreters doing the work, we should have more influence on the training we need, not just what the company believes we should get. ZP is continually trying to push out quantity over quality. We need far more Deaf staff involved directly with the training process. The company does not prioritize hiring Deaf staff–instead, they repeatedly choose very little representation and input from the Deaf community.
With the ASL Interpreters Union, we can fight for better training and representation to produce higher quality interpreters that can better serve our Deaf callers. When we win our union, we can negotiate the terms that we want to work under, and bring training back to the high standards that our callers deserve. If we are going to provide the top tier service that these companies claim to, we need more Deaf people and qualified interpreters at the helm of these important decisions being made.
