It seems so long ago and at the same time just yesterday – October 2021 – that Utah welcomed and resettled roughly 1,000 refugees from Afghanistan, the majority of them settling along the Wasatch Front. Over the years the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) recognized the need for translators especially in the medical field. Five members of the Afghan community stepped up to fulfill that call completing the first ever Medical Interpreter for Pashto and Dari program and become eligible for the Tier 2 interpreter license. This short-term licensure training is based on a Medical Interpreter course for Arabic developed by Salt Lake Community College and DWS. With the foundation for a new program already in place, DWS, SLCC and current Dari/Pashto Instructor Abdul translated the existing curriculum to best serve the Afghan community. One of Abdul’s biggest challenges was the lack of a written dictionary for Pashto or Dari. To solve this problem, he used his contacts in the medical fiel
Salt Lake Technical College is bringing career ready training to get Salt Lake residents to work.