Questions? Consult this page to find the most frequently asked questions about the EU-WEBPSI portal.
The questions take into account the input received from users and stakeholders, and cover the following topics: accessing the learning materials, registering as interpreting provider or users, and requesting and providing interpreting services through the EU-WEBPSI portal.
Some documents and videos in Modules 1, 5 and 7 can only be accessed with a EU-WEBPSI portal account. If you are a PSI training provider or researcher, please contact us at info@webpsi.eu.
ENPSIT does not deliver a certificate for training delivered using the material available on this portal, as most certification procedures only receive official recognition at local, regional or national levels rather than at the European level at which the portal operates. You can, however, use the EU-WEBPSI train-the-trainer material to modify your existing training and certification process, or to create such a process in your organisation. Please refer to Modules, 0, 1 and 7 of the EU-WEBPSI train-the-trainer material for more on this topic.
ENPSIT does not organise PSI training. For PSI training opportunities, please refer to organisations in your area who are active in this domain.
ENPSIT can grant access to the EU-WEBPSI booking tool to two types of organisations : (1) PSI training, certification and provision organisations, and (2) organisations providing public services (e.g. healthcare, education, welfare…). Organisations belonging to the first category will need to be recognised as a certifier, provider or association of public service interpreters at a local and/or national level. Should they not be officially recognized (e.g. because of a lack of regulations), they should demonstrate that they subscribe to the same professional and ethical standards. Interpreters are not granted access individually but must be affiliated with one of these organisations. Organisations belonging to the second category must agree to the platform’s conditions of use.
The EU-WEBPSI portal is not meant to replace existing systems for requesting and providing PSI services. The EU-WEBPSI portal aims to increase the possibilities for qualified LLD interpreting across the EU by providing a common platform for using VMI technology, and by encouraging the use of relay interpreting, mainly using English as a target language instead of the national ones.
The EU-WEBPSI portal was not created to foster competition between PSI providers. Rather, its purpose is to increase the likelihood of finding interpreters when the usual providers cannot meet the demand. In particular, the portal can help PSI users find LLD interpreters: that is, interpreters in languages that may be scarcely provided through the existing systems and networks. Additionally, the EU-WEBPSI portal is also meant to encourage the use of relay interpreting, mainly using English as a target language instead of the national languages.
Portal users are not required to pay a fee to ENPSIT for accessing the portal. Interpreting assignments will be billed directly by PSI providers. ENPSIT may revise this decision in the future.
API integrations can be explored on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for more information.
No, interpreters cannot access the portal as freelancers. PSI providers who have access to the portal are responsible for registering and managing interpreters on the portal.
No, it is not possible to indicate different skill levels for interpreters on the portal. When submitting an interpreting request, users are required to add a description of the assignment to make sure matching PSI providers and interpreters are aware of the required skills and context. PSI providers are responsible for forwarding the request to suitable interpreters and ensuring quality.
ENPSIT does not establish the rate to be applied by PSI providers using the EU-WEBPSI portal. The rate paid to interpreters is established by the PSI provider they work for. This in turn can depend on the way PSI is regulated locally.
No, it does not necessarily mean that it is not available. The list of languages appearing in the interpreter request corresponds to the ISO 639-3 classification of languages.
As a language may be known by a variety of names, you may need to check the name of the language you are looking for in the ISO 639-3 classification, or on the UNESCO World Atlas of Languages: Kurmanji, as an example, is called Northern Kurdish in the international classification.
Type the first letters of the languages you need in the fields “Source language” and “Target language”. The drop-down menu will show you the corresponding languages in the list.
Please note: the fact that a language appears in the list does not mean that an interpreter is available. You can consult the Interpreters’ register page to check which languages are currently available on the EU-WEBPSI portal.
The list of languages appearing in the interpreter request corresponds to the ISO 639-3 classification of languages. The fact that a language appears in the list does not mean that an interpreter is available. You can consult the Interpreters’ register page to check which languages are currently available on the EU-WEBPSI portal.
Yes: please make sure to enter the exact and correct time that you would like to book an interpreter. PSI providers and interpreters will manually assess your request based on the date and time you inserted and check whether an interpreter is available at that time. If no interpreter is available at the time you requested, your request will be declined by the matching PSI providers and interpreters.
Yes, it is. You can mention all relevant information regarding the interpreting assignment in the “Description” field when filling in a new interpreter request. This will help the PSI provider and the interpreter in assessing whether they have the necessary skills and preparation for the assignment.
Yes, you can choose to send the interpreting request to a specific interpreter you already worked with. Each interpreter is assigned a username, which is communicated to you when the a request is confirmed. The usernames are fixed, so that you can request the same interpreter again if you wish. Alternatively, you can choose to send the request to all matching interpreters.
It is not possible to automatically exclude specific interpreters when submitting an interpreting request. However, you can notify the PSI provider if you were dissatisfied with their service after an assignment. The PSI provider contacts can be found in the appointment itself. You may also refuse a specific offer received in reply to your request if you see that the selected interpreter is someone you were dissatisfied with before, or you may contact the PSI provider who replied to your request to signal this. Be sure to check the username of the interpreter when your request receives the “Waiting confirmation status”, before confirming the PSI provider offer.
No, this function is not built in the portal. You may contact the PSI provider directly to let them know that you were dissatisfied with their service after an assignment: the PSI provider contacts are available in the appointment.
The video tool is built by integrating Zoom in the EU-WEBPSI portal. Confidentiality is ensured by encrypting communication between the user and Zoom's servers. The users only see information from Zoom's servers and never from other users. You can find more information here.