Clare got a job !

Zebra Access is delighted to have relaunched its Specialist Employment Service in April with 14 new participants registering with us and 3 of them obtaining employment to date. Linda, our Specialist Employment Officer, is delighted with the progress and have an example of what is possible for Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing and Deafened people with the right support in place.

Clare is profoundly deaf and communicates in BSL and has never worked since leaving college decades ago, due to becoming a single mother of three children. When her youngest child recently turned 18, she felt it was time and ready to look for work where communication isn’t a barrier. Upon registering with Zebra Access it was identified that she had a number of qualifications that she obtained at school and college of further education. Despite this she had never had the opportunity to use the knowledge gained as she had been unsuccessful in gaining any type of employment after leaving College.

Support in her preferred language (BSL – British Sign Language) was given in identifying her qualifications and transferable skills where she had supported her family members, experiences of budgeting to support her family on benefits and managing a household. She was also a carer for her father who had a long term sickness by supporting him with all his care needs, cleaning, shopping, managing his medication and medical appointments. This continued with her stepmother when her father passed.

During registration and developing her CV, her career aspirations revealed that she wanted to support deaf people in the community or do some administrative work.

Upon coming across a job ad that interested her during a job search, we then supported her in completing her application, with the best supporting information possible. Shortly after the application was submitted, she was selected for a job interview, her first ever interview. A lot of interview practice and support was given around potential interview questions (that were relevant to the job), etiquette and preparations. As result of the support she received in BSL, she built her confidence and got a job which she never thought she would get given her employment history.

Clare said: 

After my youngest turned 18, I felt it was the right time to look for a job. Looking for jobs online on my own was extremely difficult as I have never worked before. I was then referred to Linda, who supported me in developing my CV and posting online application forms. A few days later I was so pleased to be offered an interview via zoom. Linda worked with me to develop my interviewing skills and gave me some tips to prepare myself. I was so nervous as it was my first ever job interview but kept a calm front and used my common sense answering the questions in the best way I could. I kept checking my emails for about a week until I finally got the news offering me a PA job. I was over the moon. Yesterday I undertook  an induction for the job on zoom. I’ll be starting in the next 3/4 weeks.Linda was great supporting me from start to finish. Big thank you to Linda.

Chris Beech, Project Development Manager, said 'This shows why Specialist Employment Support is needed. Linda has been fantastic hitting the ground running and getting so many people registered and into employment in a short period of time. It goes to show that this kind of service is desperately needed. We are indebted to The National Lottery Community Fund and Black Country Futures project for this opportunity to provide the required support.'

For more details about this service, contact Linda Beasley Email: Linda@zebra-access.com Text/Facetime/WhatsApp: 07482484237