Traineeships for Conference Interpreters

The European Parliament Interpretation Directorate does not provide basic training to linguists who want to specialise in conference interpreting, since under the principle of subsidiarity this is the responsibility of the national authorities in the Member States.

If you already hold a qualification in conference interpreting and your language combination is relevant to the institution then you should consider applying for an accreditation test or an open competition (see Interpreting for Europe).

If you fulfil these conditions and plan to take a professional test, but feel you would benefit first from more practice in the university environment, then you may qualify for a bursary as a trainee/assistant. This means spending a term on an interpreting course in a selected European university and giving linguistic support to other student interpreters whilst continuing to practise your own skills. For you to qualify, your language profile must correspond to the needs of a course coordinator. Additionally you must prove that you have obtained a good pass mark in your interpreting exams and have a written recommendation from one of your teachers.

If you are interested in such a possibility, then you should begin by sending a detailed curriculum vitae (with particulars of periods spent abroad and conference interpreting qualifications) by e-mail to: Interpinfo@europarl.europa.eu.

Other possibilities

If you are interested in becoming a conference interpreter, but you are not yet qualified, a number of universities in Europe offer courses leading to a qualification in translation and interpreting. For a list of universities offering full-time courses go to this link.

So if you already have a degree in any subject, but you would still like to train to be a conference interpreter, you may be interested to know that this «European Masters» is offered at a number of higher education institutions.