Deaf Awareness Week 2018: Getting deaf people into work with RAD

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“Purely because of not being able to listen to the radio, which is fine for now, but you never know with technology in the future,” he said.

Aaron, 34, is one of the 47 per cent of staff at Royal Assocation for Deaf People, who are profoundly deaf.

He is also one of just two specialist employment advisors including Natalie De Bruyn working with deaf job seekers across Essex.

But the factors contributing to the disability employment gap is multi-layered and up-to-date research is also hard to come by.

A 2016 survey done by Totaljobs, one of the UK’s leading job boards, discovered one in four workers had no provision for deaf employees at their workplace and nearly half - 47 per cent - said they received no specific support or guidance from employers.

Promising though is that 72 per cent of the 437 respondents were working either full or part-time.

The sample was small, with only a third of people being BSL users, and so not representative of the 87,000 deaf people in the UK for whom BSL is a first language.

However, a lack of deaf awareness, the attitude of employers, feeling isolated or left out, and a lack of suitable jobs were the top four challenges facing deaf workers.

Natalie said: “I think it’s a real positive thing to work with employers and part of the gateway forward because they need support as much as our clients do.

“Even if they’re aware of the support, they might not have had the opportunity to meet a deaf employee, or perhaps they’ve never had anyone apply.

“Like anything new you do, you need support to go through the process. It’s key to help them broaden their understanding.”

Natalie De Bruyn

At this point Aaron pulled a contemplative expression - an indication he had more to add as someone who spent about four years trying to find work after leaving Colchester Institute with a degree in graphic design.

He said: “No, I think that’s very true, but personally, going for an interview you can tell when someone has never met a deaf person and that’s fine, I’m more than used to that but always at the end they say, “Well how are you going to communicate with other hearing people?”

“I explain there’s Access to Work but there’s quite a few people who don’t know about it and don’t bother to look into it either, they’re just ready to rush you out of the door.

“There are things employers can access to enable deaf people to work effectively but they’re quite often reluctant to and need some help knowing where to look.”

READ MORE: COLCHESTER'S FIRST CAFE WITH DEAF WAITRESS CATERS TO BSL USERS

Access to Work is a grant to support the costs of communication support and equipment but is now capped.

For some recipients this is capped at £40,800.

RAD’s own Building Better Opportunities programme works with clients like Samuel, from Basildon, who was unemployed for 20 years since leaving school.

His positive advice to other deaf people is: “Don’t be downhearted, be confident and determined to succeed. You can do it.”

It is the same attitude Aaron has, especially because he understands how difficult it is being the only deaf person in a workplace.

Aaron Ockenden

His first job out of university was in Sainsbury’s where some customers would run away when they discovered he was deaf.

But having a boss who was deaf aware made all the difference.

He said: “I’m not really a person to give up when there’s something I can’t do. I’ve got quite strong belief in myself which is important.

“I want to show people it doesn’t matter if you are deaf or not, you can still achieve what you want.”

He wants deaf people to have the confidence to be more proactive and educate employers themselves.

He added: “I do youth events and visit a lot of schools, and asked someone what she wanted to do when she was older. She told me she wants to be the first deaf MP.

“I said that’s a great ambition. As long as you put your mind to it and work hard, I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem at all.”

To get support from RAD, as a job seeker or employer, click here.

READ MORE: HARD-OF-HEARING STAFF STAY SILENT AT WORK DUE TO JOB FEARS