Interpreters and translators thrive in isolation and need to take their place as professionals in the multi-disciplinary teams, which provide public services to a multi-lingual society. The aim of the paper is to share an overview of what is needed to create a viable professional context where this relatively new branch of language activity can be sustained and developed. This includes the need for nationally consistent: -training and assessment at various levels -code of conduct, disciplinary procedures and guides to good practice -strategies for employment e.g. fees, working conditions, and professional support -deployment, mentoring, supervision and quality assurance -inter-disciplinary conventions, with in-service training for public service employees on how to work best with interpreters and translators across cultures. [Source: BITRA]