Member Article

Clearlingo talk the language of success

A NEW translation and interpreting company is providing vital services for those with poor or no English.

Clearlingo was established by Julie Pages, Tomasz Jozefowicz and Lukasz Gosztkowski after the agency they were working for closed.

Now the growing company works with a range of clients in the public and private sectors.

Julie, originally from France, explained: “A lot of our work is with the NHS, providing translation services for people with doctors, or consultant appointments. We also complete legal work with local solicitors in the areas of immigration, family law and crime.

“In our NHS and private legal work accuracy is obviously vitally important, so we have a responsibility to get things right. There can be major consequences if mistakes are made and we take this responsibility very seriously.”

Tomasz added: “We also have to work with discretion and compassion – sometimes we have to translate what can be devastating news to people and that can be very difficult. In the past, our interpreters have had to translate the sad news of terminal illnesses to people.

“But we also provide linguists for events, or if parents need assistance in a school or college, or for cultural or corporate events - and we assist with voice-over projects too.

“We have a code of practice that our interpreters sign up to and this covers areas such as behaviour, safeguarding, confidentiality and impartiality. All new applicants are checked against the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard process and meet our strict qualification requirements.”

Clearlingo has a wide range of interpreters and translators at its disposal, and has more than 200 languages covered and specialises in more than 30 fields.

“We work for a few charities and one needed us to interpret an obscure African dialect – but we managed to find the right person and made it happen,” said Tomasz.

This month, Clearlingo moved into Hoults Yard, part of the HyHubs group of business centres, after the realisation that the business had grown to the point where dedicated office space was a necessity.

“The business is growing rapidly – we have more than 300 interpreters registered with us and we are expanding into other sectors such as the arts, marketing and education – so the time was right to open a dedicated office,” said Julie.

Tomasz, originally from Poland, explained: “We were working from our homes, but Julie and I both live around Ouseburn so we know the area well and were really impressed by the vibe, facilities and friendly environment at the Yard. We also wanted to be out of the city centre, but not too far away.

“The bulk of our face-to-face work is here in the North East, but we provide translation services for clients further afield.”

Julie arrived in the UK 2012 to carry out a student placement as part of her Modern Foreign Languages Degree in Newcastle. She obtained the Level 3 Certificate in Community Interpreting in the summer of 2012 and went on studying a Master’s degree in Translation at Newcastle University later that year. She also completed a Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (English Law) in 2013. She can speak French, English, Spanish and ‘a bit of Italian.’

Tomasz qualified as a Polish interpreter in 2016. This qualification topped up his previously obtained degrees as he is a qualified physiotherapist and biomedical scientist. This expert knowledge is invaluable with medical translations. Tomasz can speak Polish, English, German and Russian.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hoults Yard .