Interpreting and language skills: The silent infrastructure of a growing economy

Northern Ireland is at an inflection point. Conversations around green skills, digital skills, vocational pathways and AI dominate the agenda, as they should. But beneath these headline priorities lies another skillset, rarely mentioned yet indispensable: the linguistic and cultural skills that enable public services to function in a more diverse society, writes Paolina Hawthorne, Managing Director, Diversity NI.

As the Skills Barometer 2023-2033 reminds us, demand for new skills will keep evolving alongside economic and demographic change. One change already reshaping daily life is our multilingual reality.

In classrooms, hospitals, courtrooms, and job centres, the presence of service users who speak Tetum, Bengali, Malayalam, Somali, Amharic, Oromo, Greek, Latvian, Polish, and Lithuanian are amongst the 75 languages that are in demand in Northern Ireland in the past years and no longer unusual. It is the new norm.

Are we structurally prepared?

Provision of interpreters and translators across the public sector remains a challenge. Not because the need is unclear, but because reliable delivery at scale requires both a skills pipeline and operational agility. If language support falters, access to justice, health equity, workforce participation and ultimately economic inclusion are compromised.

This is where Northern Ireland’s skills debate must broaden. The conversation cannot only be about coding bootcamps or green apprenticeships. It must also be about investing in the professional development of interpreters, building rare language capability, and ensuring our systems can respond in minutes, not days.

For over 15 years, Diversity NI has been part of the behind-the-scenes infrastructure underpinning public service delivery:

Maintaining a live pool of trained, qualified interpreters, including rare languages often overlooked.

Delivering a 99.7 per cent success rate, backed by systems that place an interpreter within 20 minutes when the public sector calls.

Supporting not only communication, but the economic participation of communities whose skills and labour also drive growth.

And crucially, our role does not begin and end with contracts. Public bodies often rely on us, both within and outside framework agreements, when delivery falls short elsewhere. We step in, steady the service, and ensure that standards are upheld. That is why our reputation rests on more than numbers.

It is built on dependability, capability, and the confidence that when it matters most, Diversity NI is the expert in the room and the partner that keeps the system moving. This is not just about ‘language services’, it is about future-proofing Northern Ireland’s economy and public services.

If the 2020s are about building resilience, then language access is resilience. It keeps healthcare safe, courts functional, and workplaces inclusive. Interpreting is not a support service. It is an economic necessity.

T: 028 9047 3737
E: info@diversityni.co.uk
W: www.diversityni.co.uk