Adapt or fade: the skill reset era for language service providers 

A recent documentary called Skills Make It Work shared a powerful idea: a technical skill today has a shelf life of just 18 to 24 months. That means what we learn now may already be outdated in two years—or sooner. In this new world, it’s not enough to learn once. We have to learn, unlearn, and relearn constantly. For anyone in the language services industry—especially those of us working in AI medical translation—this hits especially close to home. 

The days when expertise meant mastering a few tools and refining processes over the course of a decade are gone. In their place, a new mindset is required—one built on agility, curiosity, and resilience. For language service providers (LSPs), this shift isn’t theoretical. It’s deeply practical, happening in real time, and reshaping every corner of our work. 

We’ve lived it 

This is exactly what we started experiencing in the past few years—but it became undeniable in 2024, with the arrival of so many technologies reshaping our industry. When we founded our company nearly 14 years ago, we operated in a world where human translation was the gold standard. We built our workflows around leading CAT tools like Trados and MemoQ. Our teams, our clients, and even our value proposition all revolved around these tools. 

Then, almost overnight, everything accelerated. Suddenly, we weren’t just managing linguists and files—we were testing AI translation engines, evaluating post-editing workflows, integrating subtitling platforms, adapting new QA processes, getting new ISO certifications and implementing customized AI medical translation solutions. 

The learning process had to be immediate. We couldn’t wait for training cycles to catch up or for the market to settle. Our team had to absorb, apply, test, iterate—and move on to the next wave. And this didn’t only affect linguists or project managers. Every department—from sales and marketing to finance and vendor management—has seen new tools and new expectations emerge. 

From experts to explorers 

In the past, the industry valued deep mastery: knowing your CAT tool inside out, perfecting translation memories, or specializing in a niche language pair. Today, we still value expertise—but only when paired with adaptability. 

This is especially true in AI medical translation, where rapid adoption must be balanced with scientific accuracy, regulatory compliance, and patient safety. We now look for professionals who can: 

• Embrace unfamiliar platforms without hesitation. 

• Understand and optimize hybrid AI/human workflows. 

• Evaluate AI-generated medical content with critical, domain-specific judgment. 

• Communicate these changes clearly to clients, partners, and internal teams. 

It’s no longer about who knows the most—it’s about who can learn the fastest and bring that learning to life, at scale. 

Building a company that learns 

For language service providers, this constant state of evolution can be overwhelming—or it can be energising. The difference lies in how we respond. We’ve found that the best way to keep up isn’t to chase every new tool blindly, but to build a culture of testing, questioning, and sharing. 

In our case, we’ve introduced: 

• Regular tool evaluation demos to keep the team informed. 

• Internal feedback loops between linguists, PMs, and QA leads. 

• Experimentation sprints using new AI medical translation tools on real projects. 

• Learning spaces that invite curiosity rather than perfection. 

These aren’t massive programs, but they’ve helped us stay grounded even as the landscape shifts around us. 

It’s not about mastery. It’s about momentum. 

In today’s rapidly evolving industry, mastery is fleeting—but momentum is everything. What sets us apart is our ability to stay curious, stay connected, and keep growing together. 

As an LSP with a strong focus on AI medical translation, we know our clients expect us to deliver speed, accuracy, and consistency. But more than that, they rely on us to navigate change. To try new things. To filter signal from noise. To adapt services before they even ask. 

So we do. We learn fast. We teach each other. We fail quickly. We improve constantly. 

Because in this new era, standing still is not an option—but moving forward, together, always is. 

References 

1. https://billetdufutur.substack.com/p/le-documentaire-skills-make-it-work