Labor inclusion of deaf individuals: the education/work relationship

Many discussions have brought up the issue of Special/Inclusive Education as an essential factor for people with disabilities. However, after the educational period, a question is important to ask about the lives of these social actors. Survival is crucial and perhaps some will start to live off the charity of others or the state. It is believed that the insertion into the job market is also crucial for them to have autonomy and more independence. Therefore, this research presents the scenario of labor inclusion of deaf people, seeking to understand the education/work relationship. The primary objective of this article is to analyze the proportion of influence of the educational process on the inclusion of deaf people in the formal job market in São Luís/MA. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in the city of São Luís/MA, with four deaf participants, formally linked to federal spheres and private companies, in the following federal public institutions: the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA) and the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) and two private companies in the retail sector. The results showed that education strongly influences the inclusion of deaf people in the job market. Therefore, access to higher education is a big step towards seeking vacancies in public positions, with better salaries, while a process interrupted in secondary education could allow for more exhaustive jobs in private companies that hire deaf people just to comply with what the quotas law recommends.