Closed Captioning & Subtitling Specialist
Creates captions and subtitles for video content — ensuring accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and translation for international audiences. In Kenya — with growing streaming platforms, TV content and accessibility awareness — captioning and subtitling is an emerging specialisation.
- AI exposure
- 51 of 100, moderate exposure
- Hiring trend
- Rising
- Hiring rate
- 25%
The role
What the work is, what it pays, and what it costs you.
At a glance
- Remote friendly
- Yes
- Freelance potential
- High
- Time to senior
- 6 years
A day in the role
Creates closed captions for a TV documentary — transcribing audio and timing captions. Translates English subtitles to Swahili for a local TV programme. Reviews AI-generated captions for a streaming platform — correcting errors and adjusting timing. Formats subtitles for Netflix delivery — converting to SRT format. Quality-checks a batch of subtitled videos. Handles live captioning for a news broadcast. Creates subtitles for a corporate training video.
What it pays
Kenyan market, per month- Entry
- KES 30,000-60,000
- Mid
- KES 65,000-140,000
- Senior
- KES 160,000-350,000
Exposure
How much of this a machine can already do, and how that was worked out.
Where this rating sits
1,516 rated careersRated above 70% of the 1,516 careers in the catalogue, which averages 43. Inside media & communication the mean is 67, across 108 careers.
Named task by task
Already automated
- AI-powered automatic speech recognition (ASR) for initial caption generation
- Automated translation for subtitle generation
- AI-assisted timing and sync adjustment
- Generating caption format conversions
Still human
- Creating closed captions — transcribing audio, adding speaker identification, sound descriptions, timing captions to video
- Creating subtitles — translating dialogue, adapting cultural references, timing subtitles, reading speed adaptation
- Quality control — reviewing AI-generated captions for accuracy, correcting errors, ensuring proper timing
- Formatting captions — converting between formats (SRT, VTT, SCC, EBU-STL), platform-specific formatting
- Ensuring accessibility compliance — WCAG guidelines, broadcast standards, streaming platform requirements
- Managing multilingual subtitling — English to Swahili, Swahili to English, and other language pairs
- Handling live captioning — real-time captioning for live broadcasts (news, events, sports)
- Quality assurance — reviewing caption accuracy, readability, timing, spelling, grammar
Task counts
- Displacing
- AI speech recognition automates basic captioning — but quality control, translation, live captioning and complex content remain human.
- Augmenting
- AI ASR significantly speeds up initial caption generation.
Sources
Behind the rating- Netflix African content subtitling
- Kenya TV accessibility requirements
- Streaming platform growth in Kenya
Getting in
The routes into the role and what each one asks for.
What to study
8 courses- Diploma in Church MusicKsh 54,000a year
- Certificate in Clerical OperationsKsh 67,189a year
- Certificate in Computerized Secretarial StudiesKsh 67,189a year
- Certificate in Marketing ManagementKsh 67,189a year
- Certificate in Office AdministrationKsh 67,189a year
- Diploma in Analytical BiologyKsh 67,189a year
- Diploma in Highway EngineeringKsh 67,189a year
- Diploma in MarketingKsh 67,189a year
How people get in
BA Languages/Media + captioning/subtitling training
5-7 yearsVery high cost
BA Linguistics, Languages, Media or Communications plus captioning/subtitling skills and experience
Who hires
- Streaming Platforms (Netflix, Showmax)
- TV Stations (Citizen, NTV, KTN)
- Production Companies
- Freelance/Subtitling Agencies
Common misconceptions
Captioning is just typing what people say
Captioning involves timing, formatting, speaker identification, sound descriptions, accessibility compliance and quality control — a specialised technical skill.
What happens next
How the role changes from here, and where it leads.
Growth outlook
- Net demand change
- +10%
- Over
- 2026-2028
- Drivers
- Streaming platform content growth,Accessibility regulations,Multilingual content demand,African content for global distribution
- Headwinds
- AI speech recognition improving,Automated translation tools,Limited awareness of the profession
What to learn
- AI-powered ASR and captioning tools
- Multilingual subtitling technology
- Live captioning systems (CART, stenography)
- Streaming platform caption delivery systems
Kenyan market notes
Captioning and subtitling is an emerging field in Kenya. Key context: streaming platforms (Netflix, Showmax, Amazon Prime — available in Kenya with growing local content), TV stations (increasingly required to provide captions for accessibility), production companies (creating content for international distribution needs subtitles), and accessibility awareness (disability rights movement advocating for captioning). Key demand: local content for streaming (Netflix investing in African content — needs subtitling in multiple languages), English to Swahili subtitling (and vice versa), accessibility compliance (WCAG, broadcast standards), and corporate video captioning. Key challenges: AI speech recognition is improving rapidly (automating basic captioning), limited awareness of captioning as a profession in Kenya, limited training programmes, and low rates for freelance captioning. Growing demand: streaming platform content, accessibility regulations, multilingual content needs, and corporate video. Salary: entry KES 30,000-60,000 (junior captioner), mid KES 65,000-140,000 (subtitling specialist), senior KES 160,000-350,000+ (subtitling manager or lead specialist). Freelance captioners charge per minute of video — KES 200-800+ per minute depending on complexity and language.
Further reading
This role is rated 51 out of 100 today. Save it and the app keeps that number, then tells you by how much it has moved when the record is next reviewed.