Breaking the sound barrier
What are the employment needs of employers and people with hearing impairments?
Phase 2
Type of project: Exploratory research
Disability concerned: Hearing impairment
Topics: Equality at work
Status: Completed
The study of access to employment for people with an hearing impairment in a given area raised a central issue: the isolation of the various players involved in the problem. This isolation maintains the invisibility and inertia that characterise the problem. Our priority is to connect these players using a high-performance digital interface to activate the existing network.
The Federal Council’s Disability Policy 2023-2026 includes our project in one of the 4 priority areas defined by the Federal Council, namely Work. As far as we are concerned, the aim is to promote access to employment for people with an hearing impairment (HI).
The aim of the exploratory research was to establish a diagnosis of the actual situation, in order to determine the priority needs that should be met by a digital information and coaching platform that supports and encourages successful encounters between employers and job-seekers with HI.
The objectives were to compile :
- A list of concrete priority needs/issues for employers and potential employees with HI
- An exhaustive list of concrete indicators of obstacles and levers
- A categorisation of indicators in relation to needs
- Prefiguration of tools to be created for the platform
The results obtained show:
- The real existence of numerous resources and their respective isolation
- The great isolation of people with HI
- The isolation of the public and private services concerned by the problem
- Insufficient knowledge of the real problem among players without HI
- The desire of all players to be efficient in relation to their own objectives
All the expertise therefore exists simultaneously, the players feel concerned and say they are interested, but identify a central shortcoming: the lack of overall coordination.
The priority of connecting the players therefore emerged as the response to be developed for the rest of the project. Despite the many needs identified, our prototype option will focus solely on connecting stakeholders through a digital platform for sharing experience and expertise.
If this interface confirms our diagnosis at a later stage, we will have created the basis for the sustainable development of a variety of services.
There is a great deal to learn from each other. Each of us is enriched by the expertise of others; the fact of being a user and occupying an expert function or status modifies our personal and professional identity; the experience for scientists of truly integrating the world of users constitutes a powerful learning experience in terms of knowledge of reality.
The next step is to apply for funding from Innobooster / FRH to model an interface that will form the basis for development in response to the multiple needs identified.
The prototype will have to take into account issues of accessibility and acceptability for a variety of audiences (people with HI, employers, public services, foundations, etc.), and point towards useful solutions (idea of a learning system personalising responses).
