More people need to get involved with the issues raised on THIS blog, which covers concerns about why deaf people are not working. Personally I was fully qualified via an full 5 yr apprenticeship, and had 12 years experience. As soon as I went deaf none of it counted for anything and didn't attend a deaf school of any kind. They totally ignored my skill level and said deaf people are virtually unemployable. Read this response from one employer:"We aren't a social service, and have no time or money to spend on supporting our workers to the degree deaf demand, they have to show they can work dependently, in a team, and on their own, deaf could not show these skills, communication was a huge barrier, especially this 'sign language' they use... they have to work in hearing environments and do not appear to know how, another serious problem is they lack basic educational attainments.. We live in a fast-moving, social and technological age, the deaf just do not seem to aware of it... in some 'deaf-world' of their own. It may be the way they were educated or their lifestyle apart from others, it's not my area of expertise, it would have to seriously change for me to hire a deaf person at this time...."
Much is rightly made about assessing the degree of issues deaf people have, especially via ATOS and ATW/DWP work assessments, and confusing Deaf statements that reject disability and apportion blame instead on other issues, some valid, some less so. I don't agree either with the broad statement "Deaf are too lazy to work...and prefer to live of free welfare allowances, but I believe in the most part, this employer hit the nail on the head. I asked him for a frank statement which I gave a guarantee I would not identify him, since I wanted to know why deaf were not working and employer's reasons why they weren't. What are the deaf doing wrong ?
It would have been counter-productive to name and shame, just to score brownie points with deaf activism. Problems need to be identified so they can be addressed. I do think the attitude "Without support it is impossible to do an interview or anything to look for work. "Hearing people must learn sign first." can come across negative, improbable, and unrealistic. Employers need to see what you can do for them, not what they have to do for you, that, comes after a successful interview.
The interview stage is crucial, and if you start a CV with "I am deaf and I need..", then it will be binned without further reading. Believe it ! You start with your life/educational skills and experience. Communication skills need very careful mention, yes, you need some assistance/adaptations and are prepared for some compromise, but don't start with "Unless you provide this that or the other, no point..." An employer will just not be interested. No,deaf aren't lazy, but for some it may just be easier to stop fighting your corner all the time, but deaf have little option if they want to work, there are 2 million hearing prepared to start without all the extras deaf might need. You have to be twice as good to stand still.
Addressing the social skills of deaf people may however prove impossible, too many see no point in hearing areas after an education where they just occasionally bump into each other, and on leaving special schooling, are thrust into a hearing world and then have no idea how to cope in it and go straight to interpreter/social worker support areas. An employer doesn't like working through 3rd parties to communicate. It is still the case deaf are kept with deaf too much and do not then attain anywhere near enough deaf-hearing communication skills. Sign is fine ! but hearing DON'T use it, so unless you want to sit in a work-place stuck in some corner waiting for them to learn, and still isolated, deaf education/communications needs to join the real world.
Employers do need more flexibility too, but they won't give a job just because you are deaf, you have to COMPETE, again an area deaf seem totally ill-equipped for in a hearing world. Deaf cannot go on 'co-existing' in some cultural/parallel lifestyle, and expect that will help them cope in a world where people don't sign, talk, and hear. The blog comes across as 'Deaf Blame for being deaf' ? this isn't the point, we work in a HEARING world and haven't that necessary skill to manage it.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder