How can we strengthen the talents of deaf people in the job market?
How can we strengthen the talents of deaf people in the job market?
Deaf Flanders & VDAB, Namahn
Deaf Flanders & VDAB, Namahn
Challenge
Doof Vlaanderen, a non-profit organisation representing the rights of deaf people in the Flanders region of Belgium, came to us to design a service concept intended to help job seekers and employers of hard of hearing and deaf people. Deaf and hard of hearing people can experience different barriers throughout their professional careers. Through tailor-made coaching for the Doof Vlaanderen team, we drafted an inclusive service designed to build bridges between deaf and hard of hearing people and teams, employers, Flemish Sign Language interpreters and employment services. This project was funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). The ESF is the main governing body of the European Union for supporting employment seekers by helping people get better jobs and ensuring fairer job opportunities for all EU citizens. In Flanders, the ESF allocates 20% of their budget for projects targeting vulnerable groups who may experience difficulties in the job market.
Solution
We developed the service concept for this project in a series of co-creation workshops with deaf people and employers, co-facilitated by the Doof Vlaanderen staff. The service concept consists of three main elements:
- A co-creative lab for deaf jobseekers/workers and employers with solution-oriented workshops;
- A knowledge expertise centre that provides the necessary information on rights, possible workplace adjustments and good practice via a physical (counter) and digital (website) space;
- A renewal of the VDAB (public employment service of Flanders) service for deaf people including training and tools for VDAB-employees.
Approach
I assisted Doof Vlaanderen in the preparation of workshops to be tested on a small scale. My visual way of working and facilitating has proven to be an enormous added value. Additionally, an external university institution, the Artesis Plantijn University College of Antwerp, carried out an impact measurement of two workshops. The first workshop focused on applying and interviewing for a job and involves deaf job seekers, HR specialists and Flemish Sign Language translators. The translators are a crucial party to include, as they have a significant impact on the chances of a deaf applicant to make the right impression. The second workshop tested was the Deaf Awareness workshop, where (new) colleagues and managers are introduced to deafness in the workplace. Both workshop activities achieved the intended goals and led to an increase in deaf awareness and newly proposed communication solutions within the teams.
Team
+ Yalenka Mariën, design coach
+ Olivier Renard, design coach