A room packed with 200 people spontaneously waved their arms in the air in excitement, shaking their hands from side to side.
There was no loud ruckus of applause, the kind of sound you'd expect to hear upon announcing the winner of an award at a ceremony. And that's exactly what made it so special for Dane Eralp.
That's because Dane is Deaf, and the attendees at the National Employment Services Association annual award ceremony were applauding her in Australian sign language, Auslan.
Dane struggled to find a job as a hairdresser in Australia, despite having the qualifications and more than a decade of experience in Turkey. Source: Supplied / MatchWorks
After learning Auslan, taking English classes, getting another hairdressing diploma, working odd jobs and being turned away from 30 salons - she's finally found her feet in a local salon in Melbourne's north-west.
What I didn't want to do was let my disability define me.Dane Eralp
"I didn't want to let the fact that I was unsuccessful in so many applications get me down ... it was about persevering and applying for as many jobs as possible until I was successful," she said.
Now, her resilience is being recognised through a national award, shining a light on barriers to employment for Deaf and hard-of-hearing migrants.
The triple language barrier
Dane, 38, was born in Australia before her family moved to their home country of Turkey when she was six years old. Both Dane and her older brother were born Deaf.
Since her family's move to Turkey, Dane battled the problem of communicating in silence.
Dane (centre) grew up with her supportive family in Turkey. Source: Supplied / Lutifye Ulugun
Forced to lip-read and communicate verbally in Turkish at a school that didn't support sign language, Dane said she always felt one step behind the mark.
"In a school environment, with people using spoken language at such a fast pace, it was difficult for me and I needed a lot of extra help from the teaching staff at the school to work with me on developing my Turkish spoken language," she said.
Dane (bottom left) with her classmates at school in Turkey. Source: Supplied / Lutifye Ulugun
At the age of 26, when she returned to Australia after having studied hairdressing for four years and working as a stylist for 11 years in Turkey, she thought she could secure a job easily.
But with hairdressing qualifications that weren't recognised here, and fluent in neither English nor Auslan, it proved harder than Dane initially expected.
"It was deeply frustrating and I felt as though I definitely experienced barriers to getting employment," Dane said.
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2019 found that 3.6 million people in Australia live with some form of hearing loss. That's expected to double to 7.8 million by 2060.
Yet only 16,000 people speak Auslan in Australia, according to the 2021 Census. Advocates fear that the existing national shortage of Auslan interpreters will only grow without active intervention to increase opportunities for people to learn the language.
Only 50 to 65 per cent of people who are Deaf are estimated to be employed, according to national peak body Deaf Australia, with no improvement in the figure since the 1990s despite an increase in accessibility services and an uptick in TAFE and tertiary course enrolments.
Advocacy organisation Deaf Connect's Brent Phillips said there is "undoubtedly a bias against Deaf jobseekers", who may be seen as too difficult to employ based on communication barriers.
"Across the country, there are very accomplished and successful Deaf Australians working in a variety of fields – many of whom have faced barriers to employment, but all of whom can thrive when given equal access to information and opportunities," he said.
'I couldn't be happier'
While working at a kebab shop to make ends meet, Dane learnt Auslan as well as the written and spoken language of English. She also engaged an employment services provider, MatchWorks, who connected her with a Turkish support worker.
It was then she found Turkish migrant Eddie Akbulut who is the director of Essendon hair salon Endless Hair. He employed Dane in 2021.
Danie has been working with Eddie at Endless Hair, a local hair salon in Essendon, Melbourne. They use Turkish spoken language and lip-reading to communicate. Source: Supplied / MatchWorks
"It's been a really lovely experience for me, I couldn't be happier. The staff there has been really supportive and I'm thankful to have them."
"What I didn't want to do was let my disability define me. I really wanted to get out there and find a meaningful job."
Eddie said that Dane has become an "asset" to the salon, describing her as "extremely skilful" and "independent", forming strong relationships with her clients.
"Apart from her skills she is funny, bubbly and a pleasure to work with," he said.
"All businesses should, without hesitation, consider hiring a person with a disability. They are committed and trustworthy. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat."
While Dane admits her lack of English skills may have stunted her job opportunities, a spokesperson at Deaf Australia said her difficulty is a greater symptom of discrimination against Deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
"There are many hearing people with below-average English skills, yet their competency in English is not questioned in the same way Deaf and hard of hearing people’s are," the spokesperson said.
"Deaf and hard of hearing people need to demonstrate they hold more qualifications, skills and experience than the average hearing person in order to compete for the same jobs."
At the national Jobs and Skills Summit held in September this year, Australian of the Year to hire people with disabilities.
Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott wants employers to hire people with disabilities. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
The former wheelchair tennis champion said it was "just bloody good business" to hire people with disabilities, as they are "more likely to be equal to or more productive than able-bodied people, we have higher retention rates, (and) lower absenteeism".
Earlier this month, Dane's resilience was celebrated at the NESA (National Employment Services Association) awards for excellence gala dinner in Sydney, where she was awarded the Achiever of the Year award. The award recognises a "former job seeker who has overcome extraordinary disadvantage to achieve employment".
I noticed that my mum was crying and I asked my mum if she was OK. She said that they were tears of joy.Dane Eralp
She said she was "so shocked" to be chosen as the recipient and overwhelmed at the response from the crowd who applauded her in Auslan - a touching tribute that she said warmed her heart.
"It was a very special moment, it was a really nice thing to be a part of a really overwhelming thing to see all those hands in the air, in recognition of me receiving that award," she said.
"I noticed that my mum was crying and I asked my mum if she was OK. She said that they there were tears of joy."
Social services minister Amanda Rishworth, who presented the national award to Dane, told SBS News in a statement that her success in her journey was a testament to her skills and persistence.
Social services minister Amanda Rishworth presented the award to Dane, describing her journey as "incredibly moving". Source: Facebook / Amanda Rishworth
"I hope that Dane’s story will lift the expectations of employers. With so many businesses crying out for skilled workers there is no better time than now to hire someone living with a disability."
