At the present, Canada is facing a serious shortage of trained Terminologists due to the lack of the local talent. The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has included the profession in its in-demand list under the Canada Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Program.

In recent years, the demand of skilled Terminologists has increased remarkably even while due to the fact that a considerable number of professionals are either promoted or retiring, the demand will continue to increase in the future. The main aim of selecting these experts under the FSW program is to select only the best and the finest qualified and experienced applicants who are capable of making handsome contributions to the national growth. Under the program, the number of petitions that can be filed has been increased to 1000. If you have an arranged job, this number is not applicable for you.

Terminologists conduct research to itemize terms connected with a certain field, define them, and find equivalents in another language. Mainly, they are hired by government, public and private agencies. They can be self employed as well.

Occupational Titles

Medical Terminologist
Legal Terminologist
Terminology Advisor
Terminologist

Key Responsibilities

1. Identify the terminology used in a field of activity and conduct terminological research on a given subject.
2. Reply to various quires for the preparation of glossaries, terminology banks, technological files, dictionaries, lexicons and resource centers, and respectively add to terminological databases.
3. Update, manage and circulate linguistic information collected from terminological databases, and provide consultative services to translators, interpreters and technical writers preparing legal, scientific or other documents that require specialized terminologies.

To work as a Terminologist in the Maple Leaf Country, the aspirants may also require a certification by examination from the Canadian Terminologists Council. Membership in a provincial or territorial association of interpreters may also be needed.

Employment Requirements

1)    A graduate or post graduate degree in translation with a specialization in two languages, including at least one of the two Canadian official languages
or
A graduate or post graduate degree in a related discipline such as languages, linguistics, philology and courses in linguistic transfer, along with two years’ experience as a full-time translator working in two languages, at least one of which should be an Canadian official language
or
Five years of experience as a full-time translator working in two languages, at least one of which should be a Canadian official language.

Under the Canada FSW Program, the applications submitted by Terminologists will be assessed on the basis of point system. You need to score a minimum of 67 points, out of 100. The program is the main avenues to Canadian Permanent Residency (PR). You should have at least a year of full time work experience along with proficiency in either of the two official languages, i.e., French or English. Apart from this, you will have to prove your adaptability level and financial status to support yourself and your family in the country.