As a producer of BBC Radio Wales’ Eye On Wales programme, I’m always on the lookout for ideas. So when a colleague told me about a service that was helping deaf people to break through barriers and get in to employment, I was convinced there was a possible programme.
I called up Action On Hearing Loss Cymru and learned that deaf people who are skilled and capable, are struggling to get into employment in Wales. Wales has the highest rate of unemployment for deaf people in the UK, and currently there’s only a service in South East Wales to assist deaf people into work. The rest of Wales is not covered by any service.
I realised this was a story worth telling. So I asked Katie Chappelle of Action On Hearing Loss Cymru if there was someone whose experience highlighted the problems that deaf people face. She told me about Jack Griffiths, a young, motivated and highly skilled construction operative who was also profoundly deaf. I saw the potential for a good programme.
The aim was to tell Jack’s story from all the different perspectives involved. We spoke to Jack himself of course and to construction boss Paul Cachia who had the vision to see that Jack could be an excellent employee.
The programme also spoke to two people from the specialist employment service run by Action on Hearing Loss Cymru. Matt Skinner was tasked with helping to get Jack a job. Despite his qualifications, it took over 2 years for Jack to get a job. At times it was soul destroying. We also spoke to Audrey Whyte who is profoundly deaf herself, and who manages the service.
When I first planned the programme, I had to think about how it would work for hearing people. This is after all a radio show. The important thing was to get a good male interpreter for Jack. Male interpreters are hard to come by in Wales, but we were extremely fortunate to get hold of Tony Evans. As I watched him interpret the questions for Jack and then interpret Jack’s answers back to the microphone, I was relieved to see that Tony completely captured Jack’s personality and ion. It was truly mesmerising to see such a skilled interpreter at work.
Whilst recording the programme, it was Audrey Whyte who pointed out to me that deaf people would not be able to access it. She asked if we could produce a version that they could access. It made complete sense - after all, this is a programme about the deaf community and yet they wouldn’t be able to ‘hear’ it. I suggested a transcribed version, but Audrey pointed out that English is a second language to many deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language. It took me a while to comprehend that BSL is a language in its own right with its own syntax and grammar. We agreed that it was a priority to get the programme interpreted into BSL.
Luckily for me, I work in a professional organisation with some great people. With the help of the crew who manage the studio where Wales Today is made, we were able to record a BSL interpretation of the show. Tracy Pycroft, who interprets Wales Today news bulletins, did an amazing job. I have a greater appreciation of the skills of the BSL/English interpreter after making this show. The Radio Wales web team then ed the video before the radio show was broadcast. You can see the end product here. I think it was well worth doing.
