Bianca Koslowski, who has set up a small contracting firm in north London, urges more employers to employ the talents of the many deaf people attracted to the industry.
I have been working in construction for many years now, and since setting up my own construction company – led and staffed by deaf people, for deaf people – I thought now would be a good time to discuss with the rest of the sector an important issue facing our future.
Research has shown that deaf people are four times more likely to be unemployed than hearing people. One of the trades that many deaf people find themselves taking easily to is construction. But it was a few years ago that I found the gap in the market – a lot of deaf people had the relevant skills, and were keen to work, but were often being passed over for jobs that always went to hearing people.
Why was this? What is it about deaf people that are deficient? What part of putting up plaster or wiring a house needs the ability to hear?
The number one response I and other deaf colleagues receive is: What about health and safety? Well, let’s have a discussion. What about health and safety? What is the fundamental issue with health and safety that being deaf seems to cause? Are deaf people incapable of understanding health and safety laws? Are there certain aspects of health and safety for which the ability to hear is intrinsically required? I would argue a resounding “No!”.
“What is it about deaf people that are deficient? What part of putting up plaster or wiring a house needs the ability to hear?”
In all my years of experience in the construction industry, there has not been a single aspect of health and safety practice that has been an insurmountable barrier. And did you know that employers can even get government-funded communication support workers and sign language interpreters into the workplace to bridge the communication gap between deaf and hearing people?
The Equality Act 2010 states that, for employers, it is “discrimination to treat a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected with their disability”. So when employers are rejecting deaf people on grounds of their deafness (albeit for misguided health and safety concerns), they are guilty of discrimination according to the law.
“What about communication on a building site?”, my interpreter hears you ask. Well, in this day and age, we have flashing doorbells, vibrating alarms, even visual/tactile baby monitors. So I find it incomprehensible that employers cannot figure out ways to communicate to a person up on a scaffold who cannot hear them. If they are not in eyeline, then I’m certain everyone has a vibrate function on their mobile phones…
In the same way that construction has learned to work with people with other disabilities – dyslexia, colour blindness, even industry-caused deafness – I think it’s time that the leaders of our sector took the time and effort to tackle the new challenge of integrating a section of our society with all the value and employability to make our industry flourish.
Bianca Koslowski is managing director of Ankura (Make it Home). She and two members of staff are currently studying for a CIOB Diploma in Site Management at Barking and Dagenham College
