Justice contract leads to new jobs

AROUND 30 jobs are to be created by Saddleworth translation and interpretation business Applied Language Solutions.

The boost comes after the Delph-based company was awarded a contract by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The company’s HR Manager Grace Chatten told the Chronicle: “We will be recruiting over the next few weeks with a view to employing up to 30 new members of staff as call handlers in our Oldham office by September.”

Applied Language Solutions (ALS), in Riverside Court, Huddersfield Road, has won the contract after a 12-month procurement process. The deal is expected to greatly reduce the justice sector’s spending on interpretation and translation services.

The language contracts, which include translation services, face-to-face foreign language interpreting, professional interpreting, telephone interpreting, instant telephone interpreting and language services for the deaf and blind — including British Sign Language — will be rolled out from September.

ALS software is already used by several police forces across the UK, including Greater Manchester Police.

Justice organisations can make a booking request which will automatically allocate the nearest interpreter with the right language skills and experience, who is security checked and approved to work within the justice sector for the particular assignment.

Chief Executive Officer and ALS founder Gavin Wheeldon, said: “This contract enables the justice sector to significantly reduce the amount of public money it spends on providing language services, while making huge improvements in efficiency that will free front line staff from the current administrative burden of searching for interpreters and translators.

“We have already achieved cost savings of up to 70 per cent for existing customers within the Criminal Justice System.

“We are thrilled that we will now be able to help the rest of the justice sector achieve similar savings through our industry-leading technology and our experience in providing these services.

“It will also be exciting to see our team grow considerably as a result of this and other recent large contract wins.”

The company currently employs 130 people in 11 international offices.