Students who have achieved top marks in a language subject in the HSC will be offered the chance to take their language skills to the next level with an Interpreting Scholarship.
More than 5,000 students across the state completed a language other than English as part of their HSC studies this year. Those that achieved a Band 6 in an extension language course will be offered a full or partial scholarship.
Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said these students have the opportunity to convert their language skills into a formally recognised accreditation through the NSW Government's Interpreting Scholarship Program.
"Each of these students possess an incredibly valuable skill, and we want to reward their efforts and empower them to keep that skill alive by offering them to turn it into a formal qualification," Mr Coure said.
"This can open up pathways for them to apply these skills in a future job or even show them the opportunities that exist as an interpreter among our expert panel of language professionals. On completing the scholarship and becoming accredited, they can work as certified interpreters while taking on further tertiary education."
More than 400 scholarships have been awarded through the program since 2019, which have been facilitated through several educational institutions, including TAFE NSW, University of NSW and RMIT.
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said the scholarships are part of the Government's commitment to ensuring students are prepared for life after school.
"The Class of 2022 are an exceptional group of young people with a bright future ahead of them. For those who excelled in languages in the HSC, these scholarships will open doors to a unique future career path," Ms Mitchell said.
The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) will contact eligible students and offer them scholarships before the start of the 2023 university year.
More information about the scholarship program is available on the Multicultural NSW website.
Scholarships will be offered to students who achieved a Band 6 in the following language courses:
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Greek
- Hebrew
- French
- German
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Spanish
