Video Focuses On Workers with Hearing Disabilities

By Jim Steen

What do you do when you want to improve your efforts to inform Canadians who are deaf and hard of hearing about your programs and services? The federal government’s Employment Equity Branch found the answer in a specially produced video in which the leading actors never speak a word.

Breaking the Sound Barrier offers deaf and hard-of-hearing Canadians an alternative in obtaining information about employment programs and services. Deaf actors communicate entirely in sign language as they discover what a Canada Employment Centre (CEC) can do to help them.

"We wanted to do something dramatic to capture the attention of deaf and hard-of-hearing workers," said Marnie Clarke, Director General of the Employment Equity Branch. "Apparently, no other federal government agency in North America has tried this approach before."

To produce the video, a close working relationship was established with the Canadian Association of the Deaf and the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. "These organizations helped immensely at all stages of production," Ms. Clarke said. "They brought many things to our attention which helped us to produce a video which we are very excited about. I think all of us involved in its production regard it as a very rewarding experience."

James Roots, Executive Director of the Canadian Association for the Deaf, wrote the final version of the script. He noted, "A true video for deaf people would be written for deaf viewers, would employ deaf actors, and would be conducted in Sign Language with captioning and, optionally, voice-over for hearing people. This is what the Employment Equity Branch has accomplished."

Since not all viewers use or understand Sign Language, the video is narrated and includes captioning so that a printed version of everything said is displayed on screen.

The 20-minute video, which will be available soon in both English and French versions, has a simple premise. Anyone who drops into a CEC should be able to obtain a wealth of information about the world of work. A lot of useful information can be obtained just by taking a stroll around the CEC.

"Deaf and hard-of-hearing Canadians may have known something about our employment services, but we suspected many did not visit our Canada Employment Centres. If they don’t visit CECs, they will miss out on a lot of things that can help them improve their job prospects," Ms. Clarke said.

Many CECs now have computers which clients can use to find out about job openings and training opportunities. And you don’t have to be a computer whiz to operate them. Clear instructions make them as easy to operate as a banking machine or the simplest video game. In other CECs, job boards are still being used, but they will soon be replaced by computers.

"It was important to show accurately what any deaf or hard-of-hearing person would encounter if they visited a CEC," Ms. Clarke commented.

The Employment Equity Branch will continue to work closely with the associations in the marketing of the video. As a first step, copies will be made for distribution to their representatives and affiliates across the country.

Ms. Clarke is optimistic the video will enhance the department’s communications with the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. She has no doubt, however, that the video had a profound effect on the hearing people involved in its production.

"It was a consciousness-raising experience for all of us," she said. "We now have a much better appreciation of the problems people who are deaf and hard of hearing encounter on a daily basis. I think this awareness will help our staff provide better service to these clients."