An Analysis Of The Gap Between MTI Graduates' Employability And Employers' Demands In Guangzhou

The past ten years have witnessed great development of Master of Translation and Interpreting(MTI)education.A large number of MTI students have graduated.Whether MTI graduates meet the requirements of employers is yet to be studied.This study aims at figuring out the gap between MTI graduates' employability and employers' requirements.Through in-depth literature review,the author developed an analytic framework of MTI graduates' employability and designed a questionnaire to investigate MTI graduates' employability and work requirements relying on their self-ratings.The research subjects are MTI graduates of five universities in Guangzhou.The author collected 138 valid questionnaires,analyzed the data using SPSS20.0 and carried out interviews on major differences.The study found that MTI graduates' employability consists of four dimensions,including translation competence,generic skills,emotional intelligence and career development learning.Compared with employers' demands,MTI graduates are over-qualified in English proficiency,translation strategy and knowledge about translation,but they are short of cross-disciplinary knowledge and field-specific knowledge.They feel deficient in time management,communication and coordinating,team working,problem-solving,etc.,and they have no clear understanding of their competitiveness and orientations.In addition,more practical experience during study is required for MTI students.This study may help MTI students to improve their employability accordingly.Meanwhile,it may also help universities to know the market demands and adjust their training objectives.