Translator training in the Arab world: are curricula aligned with the language industry?

Translator training programmes have been increasingly challenged to explicitly identify the link between their curricula and the market that their graduates will, potentially, be serving. The Arab world nowadays hosts a number of translator training programmes in several countries. Nevertheless, the priorities of these academic programmes and their course offerings are not always aligned with the realities of the profession both at the local and global levels. The aim of this paper is to survey translator training programmes that exist in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by examining the specificities of their curricula and the markets they serve. The paper intends to identify the profile(s) of the translator that these curricula are attempting to shape in comparison with the expectations of regional translation markets. To that purpose, the paper analyses translation job descriptions published in the MENA region in order to compile data pertaining to the needs, tasks and qualifications sought. These data are compared with the curricula and course descriptions of different translator training programmes in the region. Our analysis can then serve as useful input for on-going optimisation of translator training curricula in the MENA region.