The Department for Education and Skills has today unveiled a training package designed to help deaf people develop the skills needed to become learning advisers for adults.

The package, developed by the Walsall Deaf People's Centre and funded by the DfES, provides support materials to develop interviewing techniques and to help develop good relationships with clients.

Launching the training package, Minister for Young People and Learning Stephen Twigg said: "There are three million people of working age who are deaf or hard of hearing in England and these people are more likely to be in semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. This programme has shown it can very successfully encourage adult learning for deaf people and help them release their potential like everyone else....until now people with hearing disabilities have had limited access to training programmes for qualifying as learning and work advisers. The development of this training material is an important achievement. Launching this package will help deaf people access courses and qualify as advisers to adults on learning and work".