Businesses across Swansea city centre are taking practical steps towards creating a more welcoming and inclusive city, with representatives from across the city's hospitality, tourism and professional services sectors successfully completing a free British Sign Language (BSL) course delivered by Swansea Business Improvement District (BID).
The free 10-week course, saw all course participants gaining valuable BSL skills which they can use to improve communication with Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers, colleagues and visitors.
The successful participants include Kieran Ivett and Hayley Telfer, SocialDice, Rebecca Thomas, Basekamp, Hannah Cox, reTHINK PR & Marketing, Jacob Perry, Swansea BID; as well as Matthew Thom, Coyote Ugly and Allyson Thomas, Plantasia Tropical Zoo.
The course is designed to give city-centre businesses practical skills and confidence to communicate more effectively with the Deaf community, supporting Swansea's ambition to be an increasingly accessible and inclusive destination for residents and visitors.
The course was delivered by BSL trainer Adam Guichard, and by popular demand, registration is now open for the next free 10-week BSL course, starting on 12 October.
Swansea BID Manager, Andrew Douglas, said:
“It's fantastic to see businesses from such a wide range of sectors embracing the opportunity to develop their BSL skills. A 100% pass rate is a brilliant result, but the real success is seeing businesses taking practical steps to make their services and workplaces more welcoming and inclusive.
“We're delighted that the next free course is now open for registration and would encourage businesses to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Hannah Cox, Client Director at reTHINK PR & Marketing, said:
“Completing the BSL course has been such a valuable experience for me, both personally and professionally. It's given me and other participants practical skills and greater confidence when communicating with Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, while also highlighting how small changes can make a real difference to someone's experience of a business.
“It's brilliant to see businesses from such a wide range of sectors getting involved, and I hope the success of this course encourages even more city-centre businesses to take up the next opportunity. Making Swansea a genuinely welcoming and inclusive place is something we can all contribute to.”
With demand for BSL training continuing to grow, Swansea BID will continue to fund one place per city-centre business on its accredited beginners' BSL courses. Businesses wishing to access additional places can do so by supporting Swansea Centre for Deaf People through sponsorship.
Businesses looking to access additional places on Swansea BID's BSL training courses are invited to explore sponsorship opportunities with Swansea Centre for Deaf People. Sponsorship supports the Centre's ongoing work while providing access to additional fully funded places on future accredited beginners' BSL courses.
The new 10-week free BSL course begins on 12 October and spaces can be booked via the Swansea BID website: swanseabid.co.uk
