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Thriving through change: why language service providers must evolve or be left behind
The documentary Skills Make It Work delivers a compelling insight: the average shelf life of a technical skill is now just 18 to 24 months. In today’s fast-moving world, staying relevant means more than mastering a skill—it means being ready to update, rethink, and relearn. For those of us in the language services space, especially in medical translation powered by AI, this couldn’t be more true.
Gone are the days when long-term expertise meant fine-tuning the same tools and processes year after year. Now, success is defined by agility, openness to change, and resilience. For language service providers (LSPs), these aren’t abstract ideas—they’re daily realities that are reshaping the way we work.
We’ve been navigating this shift firsthand
Over the last few years, and especially since 2024, the pace of innovation has demanded a complete reset. When Novalins began nearly 14 years ago, the focus was clear: human translation powered by the most advanced CAT tools, like Trados and MemoQ. We built everything—from workflows to client strategies—around those systems.
But things changed quickly. Practically overnight, we found ourselves managing not just linguists and translation memories, but also AI translation engines, automated post-editing workflows, new platforms for multimedia localization, evolving QA practices, fresh ISO requirements, and custom AI-driven solutions—especially for complex medical content.
We couldn’t afford to wait for industry-wide adjustments. We had to embrace the shift in real time, learning and adapting with each project. Every team in our company—from project management to sales and operations—has been touched by this transformation.
From specialists to lifelong learners
In the past, being an expert often meant going deep on a single tool or language pair. Today, depth still matters—but only when paired with the flexibility to shift gears quickly. That’s especially vital in AI medical translation, where accuracy, compliance, and patient safety must align with innovation.
We now look for talent that can:
- Learn unfamiliar systems quickly and confidently
- Navigate AI-human workflows with precision
- Apply medical domain expertise to assess AI output critically
- Guide clients and teams through emerging technologies with clarity
It’s no longer about knowing everything. It’s about being ready to learn anything—and doing it fast.
Fostering a learning-first culture
Keeping up with change isn’t just about tools—it’s about mindset. At Novalins, we’ve found that creating a culture of experimentation, collaboration, and curiosity is what truly keeps us ahead.
We’ve built in small but powerful systems to stay agile:
- Regular tool review sessions to explore new technologies
- Continuous feedback loops between linguists, PMs, and QA specialists
- Agile testing cycles using real-world translation challenges
- Open learning forums where mistakes are seen as fuel for progress
These initiatives help us keep our footing in a constantly shifting landscape.
It’s not about being finished. It’s about staying in motion.
In this evolving industry, mastery is temporary. Momentum, however, keeps you in the game. What sets Novalins apart isn’t just our medical expertise or our speed—it’s our willingness to embrace change and bring our clients along with us.
We adapt. We learn. We teach. We evolve.
Because staying still in this industry is the real risk. Moving forward, together, is how we stay strong.