Today we are launching Apogee’s Translator Certification Program. Apogee will query, test and research all applicants to determine their quality of translation and ability to communicate with clients and colleagues. These translators are the best of the best. Publishers can feel assured that their valuable properties are being well taken care of in the hands of an Apogee Certified Translator.
The website explaining the Certification program is here.
The list of Certified translators is available here.
Translators interested in being Certified should follow this link.
Publishers interested in being part of Apogee’s Client Publisher program should link here.
Below is a brief introduction to the program. The text is a transcription of the video.
Welcome to Apogee Certification! Apogee tests and verifies translators in all languages of the world. We ensure that Certified translators are not only able to deliver excellent translations, but that they are professional businesspeople who quickly respond to clients’ needs.
My name is Edwin Steussy, and I am the President of Apogee Communications. I started my first translation agency in 1989 in Taipei, Taiwan, converting Chinese into English for the computer manufacturers in the region. I’ve been running translations in the United States since 1996 and it has been my exclusive business since 2003, when Apogee was formed.
In all that time, there has been a gradual change in the industry. When I was running translations in Los Angeles in the late 90′s, all of my translators were local Los Angeles residents; professional translators in some cases, self-taught dual language speaking individuals in others.
Starting in about 2000, we converted to using more and more home-based translators working over the internet. It was a new idea at the time to “off-shore” work. We received much higher quality work, typically from much more professional translators.
As time has gone on, more of our clients saw that they could do the same work as an agency; hire translators from abroad directly, and save on the middleman’s profit. It’s called disintermediation.
This is a good thing. Translators now work much more closely with their clients. Clients have direct access to translators to get work done quickly and efficiently. Questions can be answered more quickly – problems solved faster.
The biggest issue in this new set-up is determining who is a good translator, and who is a mediocre or bad one. This is where Apogee comes in. By Certifying truly excellent and efficient translators, and publishing their names and contacts for all to see, we take the guesswork out of translation hiring.
Apogee further assists Client Publishers’ by making them the priority recipients of newly Certified translators, consulting on difficult job problems and providing back-office invoicing and purchase order processing.
Globalization. Direct contacts. Certification. Come here to find the best of the best. Come and be part of us.