Ingeus

Deaf since birth, Stephen became one of London's youngest Councillors in 2002, elected to represent what the Guardian newspaper described as one of the worst council estates in London. He also worked for Shelter, the national homelessness charity, for over two years and is a member of the Federation of Small Businesses.

Why did you decide to set up your own company, Dering Employment Services?
Deaf, hard of hearing and deaf/blind people habitually shun mainstream employment providers because of the difficulty in communication. The length of time taken to secure interpreters — six weeks being the norm — means that many vital opportunities are lost and deaf people become disillusioned and sceptical of any support offered them. This results in a higher than average number of deaf people remaining on benefits even though many are highly qualified or skilled in their chosen line of work. Working with deaf people is a highly specialised area and I wanted to focus on this which I couldn't do in my previous job so I left to set up Dering.

What are the key factors that enable Dering to assist people with hearing and sight impairments into work?
Of our 31 staff, 86% are deaf, so not only do we represent the community we serve, we are able to empathise with our customer group and show that deaf people can be successful. By working with Ingeus, deaf people with low self-esteem and low confidence — including those who are sceptical of hearing people — are able to see a deaf advisor in an environment of hearing people. This means that as well as developing the confidence to communicate with hearing people, deaf people are also exposed to the same range of opportunities as hearing people when looking for work. Traditionally, services for deaf people have been rather insular and our goal has been to change this. We are the only deaf-owned and deaf-run employment service in the world specifically for deaf people and that, in itself, enables deaf people to believe in themselves that they too can aspire to and achieve anything.

Are there are any significant initiatives that other countries have put in place to improve employment opportunities for deaf people?
With the Disability Discrimination Act, the UK is actually in a better position than many other countries in providing support for deaf people. Dering is working very closely with Ingeus to establish our services in France, Germany and other parts of mainland Europe in order to address the lack of specialist employment provision for deaf people and to complement Ingeus’ own services. Dering opened an office in Sydney in 2008 and started delivery from July 2009 in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and North Queensland. In September 2009, Dering opened an office in Tel Aviv, Israel.

What difficulties have you encountered when trying to change employers’ perceptions of deaf people?
The biggest concerns that employers have are the health and safety issues — particularly with regards to a fire alarm — and communication. We have a lot of experience of working with employers to identify and address their concerns. For example, on several occasions we have worked with employers who operate a telephone interview process to adapt this so that it is accessible for deaf people.

What are the key elements of a successful partnership between mainstream welfare-to-work providers and more specialised providers?
Honesty and openness. We share offices with Ingeus in London, Birmingham, Nottinghamshire and Scotland. In every location, we are not shunted into a corner but made to feel welcome and an integral part of the Ingeus team. We share ideas and resources including job vacancies if the other cannot fill a specific vacancy, and we have helped Ingeus to make their offices more accessible to deaf people. The culture is very much about working together to develop a win-win situation for the client.

Is there a need for welfare-to-work providers to integrate more effectively with social housing services? How can this be achieved?
The further integration of social housing and welfare-to-work provision would be welcomed. Maslow's hierarchy of needs illustrates a close relationship between housing and employment. My work at Shelter showed me first-hand how the lack of a sustainable job can put homes and families at risk. One of the biggest fears of people moving into work is how a job will affect their benefits, particularly housing benefit. People can often quit a job because of fears or frustrations about payment of rent and council tax. By developing a joint approach, we can assist people more effectively during the transitions between the start of a job, the first pay date and the payment of rent.

How can local councils work more effectively with the range of disparate support services in their areas?
I had a situation recently where one social services department – on the grounds that deaf people were better off on benefits - declined to inform deaf people that Dering was able to help them look for work. Social services and housing departments should have a duty to promote local welfare-to-work programmes, as often the people they deal with may not be aware of Jobcentre Plus or local welfare-to-work provision.

What do you regard as your greatest achievement?
Setting up Dering! Every person we help into work has their own story and their own reasons for being out of work. Seeing the change in people through the new-found confidence and self-esteem afforded by a new job brings home every time that the work we do has a profound impact, not just on individuals but their families and local communities. In Southampton, for example, there has been a dramatic fall in crime caused by deaf people, simply by supporting young deaf people into a position of responsibility. In 2008, we worked directly with over 1,000 people and, through them, touched the lives of thousands more.