SINGAPORE – Jobseeker Lai Su Ying had some issues when speaking to potential recruiters who wanted to have a quick chat with her over the phone before an interview.

Ms Lai, a 19-year-old Temasek Polytechnic graduate who has moderate hearing loss, said some companies might not understand her need for video calls where she is able to read the interviewers’ lips.

She said: “It makes me feel like I’m not really seen.”

In 2011, she started using a hearing aid when she noticed that people around her would sometimes get fed up because she kept asking them to repeat what they had said.

It can be painful when others dismiss her experiences, she said.

But many like Ms Lai have gained immensely from a 12-week school-to-work Talent Accelerator Programme run by charity TomoWork.