Employment Pathways for Deaf Students

Historically many deaf people have been marginalised, underemployed or un-employed and because of this there is a trend of reliance on the Disability Support Pension (DSP). This has been due to the low attainment of education and training outcomes achieved through traditional learning methods.

Through this project the Victorian College for the Deaf hope to make an impact on future employment opportunities for our students and the wider deaf and hearing community. Victorian College for the Deaf has established a Deaf cafe called Tradeblock which endeavours to create real pathways into further training and employment for senior students.

Deaf people are typically semi-literate having been without access to language in the early years. By the time students near the end of their school life there is a great need to provide strong pathways into further training and work that is contextualised so that specific language and skills can be taught.

The program assists to break down barriers existing around disability. The next stage is to develop work place tools and software technology to remove barriers that exist around employment of deaf people. This software would become available for hospitality and retail settings to assist a deaf candidate in gaining future employment. MadCap Cafe Westfield Fountain Gate is partnering with the Victorian College for the Deaf to employ VCD students who have completed required hospitality skills at Tradeblock and test out the process and technology in practice.

Check out their pitch here.