Languages in higher education in the UK are in a sorry state, but all is…
By Helena El-Masri, DPSI Online
MoJ Setting the Scene
The Ministry of Justice’s new contract is in place and with it a new qualifications framework where the majority of assignments require Level 6 qualifications, with Level 3 accepted in certain scenarios.
The move toward clear qualification standards isn’t about creating barriers but about raising the quality of interpreting services across the UK – protecting service users, supporting interpreters, and professionalising the field. The MoJ’s new requirements are meaningful because they impact a large section of the PSI community. For us at DPSI Online, they are an opportunity, not an obstacle, to help formalise PSI skills and to enable more people to access better work, build a sustainable career, and be part of raising standards in a profession that matters.
The new MoJ contract will also expand the Trainee Scheme managed by the quality and assurance provider The Language Shop – and turns our attention to the opportunities that sponsored PSI training and qualifications can offer.
Why Sponsored Training & Qualifications?
A sustainable pipeline of professional interpreters in a constantly changing languages landscape is a topical issue for all language service companies working within the public sector space. Having a larger number of trained and qualified interpreters on their books reduces the number of complaints and no-shows as trained interpreters will usually have a work ethos that untrained interpreters may not be familiar with. Qualified interpreters will be familiar with a Code of Conduct that makes them accountable for their actions.
The prospect of investing in interpreter training or qualifications with a partner like DPSI Online may seem novel, but in the long run this will foster a sustainable pipeline of interpreters with more languages that are currently on demand in the market. Increasing the pool of professional interpreters is in the interest of all.
Third parties such as charities are also seeing the potential bilinguals can bring to the work force, and many are already sponsoring learners to achieve an interpreting qualification. Each organisation will have their criteria to award such funds but they seem to be consistently offering this opportunity to those who are financially at a disadvantage. In 2025 and 2026 the languages sponsored by various Trusts with DPSI Online were mainly Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish, Pashto and Somali. The Job Centre has also assisted bilinguals through their Flexible Support Fund, and the process and decision seems to be quite quick.
DPSI Online New Year Promotion
DPSI Online is offering a new year promotion to incentivise interpreters to get training and to achieve a DPSI qualification in 2027. We will offer a place in our intensive training course in April/May for those who book the exams in June through DPSI Online (the applicants need to meet the criteria to be awarded a spot).
Get in Touch to Explore Solutions
Find our more about DPSI Online at https://dpsionline.co.uk/ and get in touch to explore sponsored and language-specific training and qualifications solutions!
Helena El Masri
DPSI Online Founder
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