Transport for Wales all deaf team win national award

The App Support Team at Transport for Wales, all of whom are either deaf or hard of hearing, have won the Best Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Wales (CIPD) awards ceremony.

Made up of four people, the team supports the finance department with raising purchasing orders, receipting of invoices, collecting project information, testing systems for upgrades and raising sales invoices.

The team communicate with each other using sign language, Microsoft Teams and email. TfW has made their office space more accessible for them and provided vibrating pagers to help with health and safety precautions.

Last year the team were successful and won the Corporate Responsibility Award at the Wales Finance Awards and they have now gone on to win at this year’s CIPD awards.

Karlijn Asveld, Senior Finance Business Partner said: “We’re really proud that we’ve been able to create a whole team at TfW that is made up of people who are deaf or have hearing difficulties.

“We’ve ensured that our office set up allows them to sit together so they are able to support and communicate with each other.

“This week is Sign Language Week across the UK and it’s important to celebrate the success of the team. It’s great that we’ve won this national CIPD award, it brings recognition to the team and we hope to encourage more employers to look at more inclusive ways of employment.”

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Rhys Hiscock, a team member with hearing difficulties added: “I have been working for Transport for Wales for two years and I’m extremely proud to be part of the Application Support Team.  It has provided me and others with a safe space to grow, learn vocational skills and fulfil our potential.

“TfW has helped build my confidence and provided me with a working environment where I am a dependable and functional team member.  With the support of our manager, we all look forward to continuing to grow as a team and learn new skills.”

Helen Taylor, manages the App Support Team and said: “I’ve managed the team for over a year, they still inspire me every day and have taught me about different types of communication and are helping me learn British Sign Language.

“We communicate mainly by teams and email and in the office we use interpreters, sign language and lip read with each other.

“I’m proud with their recent award especially as we celebrate Sign Language Week across the UK this week.”