Living and working in France for the past 26 years, when it came to choosing a training programme to acquire qualifications in translation I was faced with two criteria:

• to be able to continue my job as I worked towards getting a qualification
• to find a higher-education diploma on the French list of national professional qualifications (RNCP)

My research led me to CI3M*, which met both my criteria. As I contacted them, I discussed the possibility of what is called VAE in France (validation des acquis de l’expérience). This is a system which allows you, based on your experience in a domain, to pass tests to obtain an official qualification. I did not have the three years’ professional activity required to follow this programme. This represents a solution to be looked into for anyone who has been a professional translator in France for more than three years and is looking to obtain a qualification.

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