Reston, Dec. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RESTON, Va., Dec. 28, 2021 — The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers, has designated Feb. 6-13 as the 2021 National Court Reporting & Captioning Week. The weeklong event themed ‘All you need is love and steno’ brings court reporters, captioners, court reporting firms, schools, and others in the legal industry together to help highlight the many aspects that make court reporting and captioning a viable profession. Those aspects include a quicker entrance into the workforce since no four-year degree is required, good salaries, flexibility, interesting venues, and the increasing demand for more reporters and captioners to meet the growing number of employment opportunities available in the field.
The 2021 event marks the ninth year NCRA has hosted the celebration.
“Court Reporting & Captioning Week is our time to shine the light on what we do, why we do it, and what makes us, human court reporters and captioners, so vital,” said NCRA President Christine Phipps, RPR, an agency owner from North Palm Beach, Fla.
“Whether we are preserving records of proceedings, gathering the stories of our war veterans, or ensuring that the spoken word is made available through captions to members of the deaf or hard of hearing community, the skills we employ as professionals are dynamic and unique and cannot ever be replaced by artificial intelligence or electronic recordings,” Phipps added.
The court reporting and captioning professions offer viable career choices and ample employment opportunities available nationwide and abroad. Court reporters and captioners rely on the latest in technology to use stenographic machines to capture the spoken word and translate it into written text in real time. These professionals work both in and out of the courtroom recording legal cases and depositions, providing live captioning of events, and assisting members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities with gaining access to information, entertainment, educational opportunities, and more.
To help members celebrate, NCRA makes available a robust catalog of resources ranging from press release templates to media messages to help spread the word about the benefits of a career in court reporting or captioning. Additional marketing materials are available on NCRA’s DiscoverSteno.org site, launched to help promote the profession to high school students, career changers, college redirects, and veterans. There is also information available at the site about NCRA’s A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand, a free, six-week program that offers attendees the opportunity to learn to write the alphabet on a steno machine to discover if a career in court reporting or captioning is suited for them.
Court reporters, captioners, state court reporter associations, and court reporting schools nationwide will host an array of activities, including showcasing the profession at career fairs, conducting Veterans History Project interviews to support the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, volunteering to lead an NCRA A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program, media outreach, and more. Professionals in the field will use these opportunities to demonstrate how the stenographic machine works to capture the spoken word and translate it into written text in real time. NCRA members will also share their stories with the public about how they became involved in the profession, the interesting events they have reported on, and why their career choice has proven to be one of the best decisions they’ve made.
NCRA will also support official legislative recognition of the 2021 Court Reporting & Captioning Week and rely on its social media outlets to reach thousands of people throughout the week to raise public awareness about pursuing a career in the field and the important role court reporters and captioners play in and out of the courtroom.
“I know that each day each of us sparks the interest of someone who knows nothing about what the stenographic reporters or captioners do. Let’s take this opportunity as we mark the 2021 Court Reporting & Captioning Week to amplify those chances by sparking the interest of even more members of the public about this wonderful career path,” Phipps said.
To arrange an interview with a working court reporter or captioner, or to learn more about the lucrative and flexible court reporting or captioning professions and the many job opportunities currently available, contact pr@ncra.org.
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) has been internationally recognized for promoting excellence among those who capture and convert the spoken word to text for more than 100 years. NCRA is committed to supporting its more than 14,000 members in achieving the highest level of professional expertise with educational opportunities and industry-recognized court reporting, educator, and videographer certification programs. NCRA impacts legislative issues and the global marketplace through its actively involved membership.
Forbes has named court reporting as one of the best career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the court reporting field is expected to be one of the fastest areas of projected employment growth across all occupations. According to 247/WallSt.com, the court reporting profession ranks sixth out of 25 careers with the lowest unemployment rate, just 0.7 percent. Career information about the court reporting profession — one of the leading career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree — can be found at NCRA DiscoverSteno.org.