NSW
— Maryan MIKHAEL would like to be Australia's
first deaf pharmacist but she faces a bureaucratic battle
that, if lost, will force her to work "behind the scenes"
in the pharmaceutical industry. She doesn't see her
deafness as a barrier but there is continual frustration
in coming up against those who do.
"My current registration as a
pharmacy student to undertake clinical training has a
condition imposed on it that I should have an Auslan
(sign language) interpreter at all times. I find that a
concern because if the Pharmacy Board of Victoria imposes
that same condition on my registration as a pharmacist,
it will be hard for me to find a job as it will cost
employers a lot of money to fund full-time interpreters,"
Ms Mikhael says.
There is strong anecdotal evidence
to suggest students with disabilities have a tough time
finding employment, despite government legislation and
equity policies designed to prevent it.
Six years ago, Deakin University
student and PhD candidate Kevin Murfitt, with the support
of disability liaison officers at Deakin and the
University of Melbourne, launched the Willing and Able
Mentoring program (WAM). It matches students with mentors
from industry. Its mentor and mentee pairs have grown
from 12 in 2000 to 80 in 2005. The federal Department of
Family and Community Services has not renewed funding for
the national program, although Victorian Government
funding will keep it buoyant in this state, for
now.
"Even when they gain employment
they're very commonly underemployed," Mr Murfitt says.
"So there you are with a considerable HECS debt . . . but
then you're also underemployed on lower
wages."
Mentor companies commit to eight
mentoring sessions of one to two hours over a period of
three to four months.
"It demystifies disability and
encourages employers to really think laterally . . . over
90 per cent of them come back and say, 'We'd like to do
this again' and they've learned just as much as their
student," Mr Murfitt says.
Angelo Capuano is a
22-year-old, final-year law student at Victoria
University who is visually impaired. WAM secured him a
mentor at international law firm Baker &
McKenzie.
"He (the mentor) was very open and
he wasn't formal so I felt accepted. I felt I could share
various experiences with him, so we ended up just talking
about various perceived restrictions I might encounter in
my future career and that led on to trying to improve my
chances of getting articles," says Mr Capuano.
"The disability wasn't even an
issue. After about two sessions with him, I forgot about
it and just concentrated on becoming a
lawyer."
For Ms Mikhael, disability is the
bonus employers should be looking for on a CV.
"Deafness is not a barrier but it
does come with challenges that make you more experienced
than everyone else because you had to overcome more
challenges . . . and you will become an inspiration to
them all in the face of these obstacles . . . You are
just as capable as they are and that it's only the small
thing of hearing loss that sets you apart. Well, hey, no
one is perfect!"
