Translation Bureau Benchmarking and Comparative Analysis - Final ...

Translation Bureau Benchmarking and Comparative AnalysisSome key characteristics of the Canadian labour market include:• The average age of those working in translation is higher than the Canadian workforce asa whole.• Statistics in Canada indicate that demand in the translation sector is higher than thenational average with lower annual attrition rates.• Demographics show a workforce with a higher than national average, post-secondaryeducation and income.• Approximately 62% of the translation workforce were in salaried positions, of whichapproximately 50% were full-time positions. This compares to approximately 33% ofself-employed translators that are working in full-time positions.While resources are fragmented, the supply of translation organizations and independenttranslators appears to be stable relative to demand. These micro-enterprises have low overhead,and as such, are able to compete aggressively on the basis of price and speed. The primary effectof this is in the apparent commoditization of translation services and its effect at providinglower costs services. The emergence of a number of large, multinational organizations and theirexpansion through acquisition of small or medium organizations will likely have an impact onlessening the fragmentation of the Canadian supply and exerting further downward pressure onprices.There are some indications that requirements for translation and interpretation services forother languages in Canada may emerge as Canada’s cultural diversity shifts and the degree towhich the Canadian government focuses on international trade.Page 5 of 43