ABSTRACT
Institutional translators clearly deploy a range of skills and draw on different types of knowledge in the exercise of their profession, but what is the ideal skillset for institutional translation nowadays? Has it evolved over the past ten years? If so, how? And what are the implications for training and recruitment today? To examine these questions, the author of this chapter compares the findings of a survey of inter-governmental organizations conducted in 2021 with a similar one conducted in 2010. The results suggest that making effective use of the latest technological tools, willingness to learn, adaptability, and flexibility have almost the same impact on institutional translation as language and analytical skills. The findings also suggest that the increasing use of autogenerated text and machine translation output is making thematic knowledge and the understanding that machines cannot acquire (e.g. of context, political sensitivities, nuance and intended effect) top training priorities today.
