Deaf-led organisaton Action Deafness aims to boost employment prospects for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people by offering a dedicated service as part of the Government’s Work Programme throughout the UK.
The charity is set to provide tailored services in partnership with the main providers already named under the Government initiative designed to help people into sustainable work by offering them the skills and support they need.
It will effectively mean mainstream employment services will be accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing jobseekers across the UK in a new and innovative way.
Action Deafness believes it is uniquely placed to offer expertise in a way which best engages with the D/deaf community – by widely using D/deaf people already highly skilled and trained who have empathy, firsthand experience and appropriate communication expertise.
Such employment specialists will support on a one-to-one basis, communicating directly with service users, offering expert advice, using British Sign Language (BSL), Sign Supported English (SSE) or other forms of communication support.
The organisation believes its advisers are ideally placed to communicate effectively with service users, understand their issues – and they themselves can serve as role models to inspire Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to overcome obstacles to employment.
The charity already has a range of established services in place to support service users, including employment advice – and a growing network of partnerships able to offer additional expertise on other issues which affect Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.
Existing projects include a service offering support to families where either the parents or child/children are Deaf, Specialist Interpreting Service, Community Support Service, Sign Language courses and a further service tailored to Black Minority and Ethnic (BME) Deaf and Hard of Hearing groups, with services covering the East Midlands region.
The organisation adds further value by providing support through its technology and communication divisions. Action Deafness Tech is a new service that provides specialist equipment and technology solutions for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. Action Deafness Communications adds expertise through the provision of quality communication services, such as British Sign Language/English Interpreting, Specialist Mental Health Interpreting Services, Remote Captioning Services, Lip Speakers, Deaf Relay Interpreting and more.
Further to its success in completing its target with the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) placements, Action Deafness has recently launched a pilot scheme in Leicester offering expertise to the D/deaf community on employment issues through Remploy, the UK’s largest organisation helping jobseekers with disabilities.
The Work Programme – a major policy initiative of the Coalition Government – operates under the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and will replace most of the existing programmes for unemployed people focusing on achieving long-term employment outcomes.
In the past months Action Deafness has been accepted as a partner by some of the major Work Programme prime providers who won numerous contracts across England and Scotland. The organisation has also been accepted into the Framework Provision with other prime providers.
Craig Crowley, MBE, Chief Executive of Action Deafness, whom oversees Action Deafness Employment, said: “This is fantastic news for the organisation and for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people across the country, for whom employment is a huge issue. And it’s good news for employers too, for whom our service users are an excellent prospect of largely untapped talent. ”
Meanwhile, in the true spirit of partnership, Action Deafness is establishing an employment infrastructure service network, involving local and regional D/deaf organisations across the UK, to deliver an employment provision as widely as possible. Utilising these local resources will bring continuity, stability and renewed business for local D/deaf services, especially welcomed in tough economic times, says Mr Crowley.
Mr Crowley is urging anyone interested in becoming part of the network, either as a provider, employee or as a customer to call Jaz Mann at Action Deafness on 0116 2533208 or email jazmann@actiondeafness.org.uk
The Action Deafness dedicated employment service is set to be launched during the summer, with full details to be announced in the weeks ahead.
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For further information, please call Russell James on 0844 593 8440 or email russelljames@actiondeafness.org.uk
