MAKE IT WORK: supporting D/deaf young people into work

Our primary objective was to enhance social inclusion for our target group, which included young job seekers who are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion due to their hearing impairment. In Europe-28, there were approximately 500,000 deaf young people. Their career aspirations are comparable to those of hearing youngsters. However, the obstacles they face in achieving their professional goals are significantly greater. There are numerous tools that assist young people in effectively entering the labour market. It is unfortunate that most mainstream resources in this field are not accessible. For example, texts do not meet their reading requirements, videos are not subtitled or translated into sign language, tools and other resources are inaccessible, and mainstream support services, career counsellors, mentors, trainers, and youth workers have little or no experience with deaf people. The project was designed with two key target audiences in mind: young d/Deaf people and youth workers who are interested in or currently working with d/Deaf young people. Additionally, we aimed to influence the wider environment of young d/Deaf people, demonstrating the value of supporting deaf individuals in their professional aspirations.

The project developed a series of tools and training materials designed to provide access to employment regulations in an inclusive and accessible way for d/Deaf young job seekers. The project's products enabled them to access employment information in sign language and accessible written form, which they could use in their daily working lives. Training and materials were also provided for a youth worker to support the social and professional inclusion of young d/Deaf job seekers. We have achieved this by: 1. Developing a set of tools to assist and guide young d/Deaf job seekers in the process of entering the labour market, which have been translated into their languages. 2. Providing young d/Deaf job seekers with information about how to define their existing skills and competencies, as well as advice on how and where they can improve them. 3. Providing young d/Deaf job seekers with information about the skills and competencies most in demand in the labour market. 4. Providing youth workers with tools and instructions on how to empower young d/Deaf job seekers and support them in their professional inclusion. 5. Encouraging career counsellors to reach out to Deaf young people and help them to enter the labour market effectively.

• Communication via project management tool. • Preparation of all necessary project documents: contracts with project partners, reporting templates. • Development of a Project Management. • The establishment of a financial plan. • The setting of deadlines and milestones. • Zoom management meetings (1-2 representatives of each partner institution – regular review on progress within the project, ongoing evaluation, minimising the risk of non-achieving project goals). • Project Leader: monitoring project activities, monitoring work of partner organisations, project management. • Project partners: coordinating fulfilling obligations assigned to each partner in a bilateral agreement. • Costs are related to project management and administration (salaries of staff, office costs, etc.). • 20 half-yearly reports (4 per partner), comprising both narrative and financial information. • 20 half-yearly quality reports. • 20 half-yearly dissemination reports. • 20 feedback questionnaires, completed after each TNM. • 5 sustainability reports (1 per partner). • 5 final reports (1 per partner). • 3 project results. • Five MEs • Two Learning Teaching Activities • Four TPMs

The MAIN RESULTS of the MAKE IT WORK project can be summarised as follows: 1 - "Analysis and Abstract". This comprised a digital survey (video in sign language with subtitles), analysis and transnational report (or abstract) to ascertain attitudes and knowledge levels regarding employment regulations among young d/Deaf job seekers. 2 - "E-accessible Toolkit". This was a set of materials for young d/Deaf job seekers. The materials provided basic information tailored to the specific needs of young d/Deaf job seekers. As part of this initiative, two training sessions involving young d/Deaf job seekers and youth workers have been organised. 3 - “Breaking the sound barrier: The publication, entitled "Supporting deaf young people with careers guidance", provides guidance for youth workers on how to empower young deaf and hard-of-hearing job seekers for their socio-professional inclusion. It is available in English and languages of partners with summarising in sign language.