“I owe everything to my team”

Gazing out of the window in year 11 of secondary school, Thomas Salomone’s future was set in motion. “They were building a new school and while seeing how they were building it, I decided I wanted to go to college to learn construction,” he says. That teenager certainly never dreamed he would one day found the UK’s first all-Deaf construction company – EGL Construction. 

Thomas graduated from The University of Derby in 2001 with a degree in construction management. He knew finding work may be challenging because the construction industry's attitude was  ‘old fashioned’ back in the day, and disability within the sector was unfathomable – but he didn't let that put him off. “I was brought up with the attitude, ‘you can do it – don't let anything stop you’. I've seen friends with hearing parents be told, ‘that’s too difficult’ but my parents, who are Deaf, are more ‘get out there, get stuck in’ – so they gave me the push,” he says. 

Early challenges

Today, according to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), 37% of people who report British Sign Language (BSL) as their main language are working, compared to 77% of people who are not disabled. Those figures were potentially more disappointing in the early noughties but, undeterred, Thomas started working as an assistant site manager for a construction company. 

His early career was challenging. Society in general made assumptions that, “d/Deaf people can't drive, can't talk, can't write, which isn't true. Within the construction industry, people worried about communication, health and safety, and image-they needed to change their attitudes,” he explains. 

“Everyone I worked for treated me as if I was stupid. I was once told that I was only given a position because the company had to give jobs to a certain number of disabled people.”

Co-workers made little effort to understand him. “People didn't have any patience. When I tried to communicate, they made no effort to understand me. They would simply say ‘What? I don't understand. You need to speak properly’. Then, when I started to write down what I was trying to say on a notepad, instead of waiting for me to finish my message, they would simply walk off.”

Thomas also experienced verbal abuse: “Bricklayers on the scaffolding would wave at me, then sign to me using made-up signs for amusement.”

He says that when the company was taken over, “the morale was non-existent” so he decided to quit. Not one to be intimidated by a challenge, he set up as a sole trader. “I was working on various small projects – windows, plastering, tiling, and that grew and grew. Before long I was doing house refurbishments and extensions,” he says. 

Today, Thomas employs 11 tradesmen – all d/Deaf – plus two office-based staff, and he works regularly with trusted subcontractors, making the total workforce 20. 

Proving himself

That’s not to say it’s a walk in the park. “If I go to a client's house, they see I’m deaf and already I have to show my professionalism, my attitude, otherwise I'll lose out and opportunities are hard to get,” he explains. But for Thomas this is just more fuel for him to strive for perfection. “I make sure that I receive recommendations – then my name gets passed around, my reputation grows, word-of-mouth grows, and it goes from there. The important thing is to be professional – with the right attitude and commitment to hard work.”

In fact, Thomas feels his team have an advantage over their hearing competitors: “We have an eye for detail. We're able to catch a problem before it worsens because we live our lives using our eyes. We're obsessed with perfection because if we see something is off, visually, it bothers us.”

Not only that, the atmosphere on an EGL Construction site is worlds apart from the stereotypical building site. Thomas asked a client why he chose to employ EGL over constructors they had worked with for several years previously, and he said: “The neighbours thought the usual builders were loud – they like their music on, they're swearing and shouting. You guys are so quiet – the only noise is from the machinery.”

A clever advantage

When pitching for projects, two issues regularly come up; health and safety and communication, both of which are easily overcome. In terms of communication, interpreters and technology are both essential. 

“New clients and architects we've never met before worry they can’t just pick up the phone and get something done quickly, so we explain how our interpreters work – you call me, and you get through to Rhys, my interpreter, but you’re talking directly to me." Video calls have been a game-changer, too. Plus, as Thomas says, past projects can seal the deal, ‘people have always said good things about us, so that speaks for itself’. 

Health and safety-wise, Thomas’s team follow all the guidelines, using various visual aids and specialised tools such as vibrating alarms, but they also have an in-built advantage. “Hearing builders often have the radio playing, but when someone shouts, they'll miss it, especially if using big diggers,” he explains. “Deaf people are constantly alert with their eyes.” 

He gives an example, “On a site a while ago, an object was about to fall from the roof. The hearing people missed it, but the deaf workers saw movement before it happened.”

Rather than a hindrance, deafness is an added layer of safety. “We can also communicate from quite far away using sign language, whereas hearing people have to use radios or shout across sites.” Factor in the din of machinery, blaring radios, and people chatting the general chaos on a construction site – and those shouts could easily be missed. 

Supporting the community 

Thomas was a trailblazer, but things are slowly changing. In 2015, Bianca Koslowski set up domestic construction company Ankura (Make It Home) Ltd, recruiting deaf staff and trainees, while in 2019, Sam Goodbody, who is profoundly Deaf, was highly commended at the Youth Builder of the Year ceremony. On the other side of the coin, when Midas Construction was awarded the contract to build a Deaf Academy in Exmouth, the team underwent British Sign Language (BSL) training to communicate with staff and students. 

Supporting the d/Deaf community is a passion for Thomas, who pushes for better d/Deaf awareness, and regularly talks to parents of children who want a future in the building industry. He gives advice on courses, work opportunities and Construction Skills Certification Scheme cards (which provide proof that individuals working on sites have the appropriate training and qualifications). Thomas wants to see his company grow, to employ more d/Deaf people, and to improve d/Deaf awareness. “I want to make life easier for d/Deaf people looking for work in the construction industry. Disability doesn't mean you can't work, you just need the right adjustments. Anything is possible for any disabled person out there,” he says. 

A brighter future

He’s pleased to see improvements in the construction trade, when it comes to attitudes to women, the LGBTQ+ community, the d/Deaf community, and mental health awareness. “In the old days, people would be told, 'man up and get on with it', that's not the case anymore, there's been a massive change in people’s attitudes,” he reflects. 

And of his own team he says, “Without them I wouldn't be here. I owe everything to them.” So how has he built such a close-knit team? 

“It's important to create a team that gets on socially as well. If any issues arise at or away from the workplace, the team supports one another like a family does. We are highly motivated workers, and we're all ready to help each other. It's not ‘my’ job, it’s ‘our’ job.”