Allow me, first of all, to introduce myself: I am the CEO and co-founder of Sign Solutions, a language and learning company that endeavours to pursue unexplored avenues in terms of channelling awareness of Deaf people and their need for communication support. As such, the company offers a unique range of products and services to our customers. Our inspired portfolio so far includes Deaf Awareness via e-learning, a free finger-spelling app for smartphones, and Training DVDs for interpreters. We also provide the panoramic advantages of video and telephone interpreting, as well as our face-to-face interpreting service. The company has grown to establish itself as one of Britain’s leading providers of communication services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, operating 24/7/365.
However, we do not only provide interpreters, but create them. Alert to the detrimental shortage of BSL interpreters within the Deaf community, our award-winning and Signature-accredited NVQ6 Training & Assessment Centre is dedicated to inspiring people to venture down this career path. In this way, we provide the full progression: from BSL Level 1 right through to Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting.
Inspiration
The business was set up following the collapse of a murder trial at the Old Bailey due to poor sign language interpretation. It was clear that there was a need for skilled interpreters to be in the right place at the right time. This inspired me and my business partner to set up our own company, to meet the needs of the Deaf community and interpreters. We subsequently successfully interpreted the retrial, and have never looked back.
As experts in the field of sign language and Deafness, we consider ourselves sign language specialists, committed to working at the heart of a disadvantaged and disempowered community, and providing interpreters for people at sometimes the most difficult and vulnerable times of their lives. We actively promote Deaf Awareness – not only through commercial delivery of our courses, but as part of our corporate social responsibility policy. We strive to promote our mission statement in every aspect of our service delivery: “To provide access and combat inequality by enabling people of different languages, cultures and communities to talk to each other”
Tackling the Issues
A particularly prominent issue in our field right now is accessibility to public services, and the challenge that the Deaf community faces following the abundance of cuts that are taking place to deaf services throughout the Public Sector. Some organisations are furthermore quite oblivious to the communication support needs of deaf people, and a recent example illustrating this was the alienation of a Deaf patient at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. We are endeavouring to alter this ominous widespread situation by channelling awareness through our various innovations.
The UK’s deaf population is growing rapidly – it will be up by nearly 5 million in just 20 years, and there are only a reported 800 registered interpreters to support the nation’s 100,000 BSL-users. This is a problem, and we thus recognise the urgency in training more people as interpreters to enable Deaf people to access services that are rightfully theirs; and as one of a few training centres which now remain offering sign language and interpreter training, we have embraced the task of tackling this detrimental shortage and inspiring more people to venture down the interpreting career path – an undertaking that got me to where I am today.
Our efforts
During the past year we have grown into this task and, although the process is a slow one, it has been my particular aim to educate local adults in the importance of learning British Sign Language. At the end of 2012, 10 Midlands-based women achieved their qualification in BSL Level 1, and many are keen to keep climbing the BSL-ladder. Some candidates undertook the training for professional reasons, having recognised the shortage of support and good level of language skills in such sectors as the NHS and early years’ education, and thus the injustice of Deaf people being unable to access services that are rightfully theirs. One said: “As a sister at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, I feel that I am developing a skill which will benefit Deaf patients and relatives who I care for. It […] is a reassurance to them that they will be understood and their care needs met to the best of my ability.” Moreover, of these 10, eight have continued through to Level 2 and seven recently took their Level 2 assessments.
Embracing the digital age
I have also chosen to invest considerably in promoting Deaf and Deafblind issues to the wider community via a number of innovations which embrace this current digital age and thus appeal particularly to the younger – future – generation. The first of these is our Deaf Awareness e-learning package, making us the pioneers of this form of training. The distinct advantage of training online is that it eliminates inconveniences caused by travel; with no geographical barriers, it can allow over a thousand users to train, all at different times and individual paces. In this way, the innovation is of particular value to organisations that employ staff members who work unsociable shift patterns and thus find it difficult to arrange in-house training to accommodate everyone. The e-learning promotes the importance of communication with/an understanding of the Deaf community in an economically-efficient and accessible way.
Our second innovation is our free BSL Sign & Spell app for smartphones; this provides a step-by-step guide through the finger-spelling alphabet. Each letter is demonstrated in video by a Deaf presenter, guaranteeing accuracy and authenticity, including close-ups of each individual hand movement so that users can get it just right. There is even a quick quiz after every five letters so that users can check their progress as they go. The app has been hugely popular since its launch last year, receiving over 15,000 downloads worldwide. It has proven to be particularly popular among the younger generation, as was my intention, with a recommendation featured on NDCS Buzz website and much enthusiasm from several Girl Guiding districts.
As I have mentioned, it has troubled me for some time that there are not enough people training to become interpreters and thus enabling Deaf people to access services that are rightfully theirs; however I believe that our two innovations provide the initial stepping stones to addressing this essential need and making that prospect more achievable and far less daunting.
Sign Solutions is an innovative language & learning company, offering a portfolio that includes Deaf Awareness e-learning, Training DVDs for interpreters, video and telephone interpreting, and a free finger-spelling app. The company is principally divided into two: an agency providing communication support for Deaf people, and an award-winning training centre providing a range of courses for both individuals and organisations.
After receiving this email, I so wish I knew about your e-learning for Deaf Awareness, as a student, was known of, I have spent three years struggling with reminding and trying to educate staff members and students of my needs, although I have heard initially they were offered Deaf Awareness at the beginning but because it was not compulsory and probably not widely communicated to everyone it was sadly not taken up, and there were two deaf students to contend with on the BA (Hons) Fine Art Course. I myself will be continuing for another year on the Masters for Fine Art again at Winchester School of Art, I pass this information onto you, in the hope that they may take up this brilliant idea, but alas money will probably be an issue, or saying they have there own staff to pass over this information at Southampton University through Wannack enabling services! BUT A BIG BUT THIS WAS NOT TKAEN UP IN THE FIRST PLACE DUE TO TUTORS OWN REASONS SUCH AS TIME AND WORK LOAD FOR A REASON, but I reckon many did not even know about it. (at the University of Southampton, Winchester School of Art, Park Avenue, Winchester.SO23 8DL.) Just a try you never know! Best Regards mrs Jay s Heathfield.
Hi Jay,
Very sorry to hear of your problems and for the delay in posting back.
We’d be delighted to help you and would advise that you drop us an email at joe.lynskey@signsolutions.uk.com. We will then look tol contact your university and advise them to consider our e-learning package. Hopefully cost will not be an issue, as this is comparatively cheaper than a face-to-face client service.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Joe