Our history

From pilot project . . .

Cintra began life in 1995 as a pilot project, set up and funded by Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority and North West Anglia Health Authority.

The project was set up because of community and voluntary sector pressure and a recognition of the needs of multi-ethnic communities by the founding service providers. It was designed to explore how interpreting and translation services could best be provided for these public sector agencies at a time of growing inward migration.

. . . to independent social enterprise

In 1997, Cintra Ltd became a separate company limited by guarantee, and the core funding from its founders ceased, although they have all remained clients of Cintra.

As a not-for-profit social enterprise governed by its members and Board of Directors rather than shareholders, Cintra has preserved its ethos of serving the wider multi-ethnic community through its recruitment and training activities. All surplus revenue above that required for the financial sustainability and development of the company is invested into the training and continuous professional development of interpreters.

. . . with a focus on training and high quality standards

Since 1997, over 800 interpreters have qualified with the DPSI through Cintra.

Since its early days, Cintra has played a major role at national level in helping to develop the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) and quality standards for interpreters.

. . . and steady growth

Since 1997, Cintra has grown steadily and has established itself as one of the leading interpreting and translation agencies in the UK with a substantial customer base in the public, commercial and voluntary sector.

For more information, call our friendly team on 01223 346870.