SHANGHAI - Wang Yuefei might be the only person with impaired hearing among his team of 12 graphic designers at MecoxLane Limited, a Chinese online platform selling clothes and accessories, but he is not the only one helped in his chosen career by Puki Coordination Agency.

The 24-year-old has never let his disability interfere with his ambition. Wang started painting at the age of 15 and became a dancer at 18. Two years ago, the tall and handsome man started a graphic design course at Xujiahui Community College and found a job with the help of Puki, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding work for deaf graduates.

"I was worried that painting and dancing wouldn't feed me in the future. That's why I turned to graphic design in 2009," Wang said. "It's not that easy for a deaf person to find a job that involves a high degree of technical skill."

According to Puki's founder, Xiao Liang, most jobs available to Shanghai's 175,000 residents with hearing-impairments or the dumb are limited to low-level positions such as masseurs and cleaners.

"It is even more difficult for those suffering from a hearing impairment to get a fair working opportunity than it is for the physically handicapped," said Xiao at his studio in the city's Liyuan SOHO Creative Park.

"It is because language is the most important way of communicating and they are at a disadvantage in that sense. Companies that are willing to hire them have to spend extra money, time and effort on training, which involves detailing job duties in a written form or repetition. It might take the boss just once to explain to his or her ordinary employee how to do the job, but for someone with a hearing impairment it can take several times," he said.

Xiao, who is in his 30s, founded Puki six months ago after quitting his job at a creative company and setting up his own business. He happened to invite Wang Yuefei, who was still a college student and who had been recommended by his teacher, to help with a design project sponsored by the local government.

"That project turned out to be very well executed and the whole process was the inspiration for Puki - a fully able person helping someone with a hearing impairment to finish their internship," said Xiao. "We call it one-plus-one."

The idea snowballed and, by the end of last month, Xiao had finished planning Puki's first project. "We started hunting for volunteers at 20 universities in Shanghai in April, training them in sign language for a month and sending the pairs to companies for internships," he said.

"Thanks to government support, we've already got eight companies that are willing to take these interns, but before directly putting them into companies which have no experience of hiring people with hearing impairments, they will receive a month's extra internship at Puki."

Puki simulates the work internees are expected to do and regards itself as a bridge linking those who have just graduated with employers.

Yang Yang, vice-principal of the only college for the hearing-impaired in Shanghai - Xujiahui Community College - has been waiting for this kind of organization for a long time.

"No matter how advanced our classes are, there's still a difference between the classroom and the office," she said. "And there're so many things our students need to pick up - from teamwork to adapting to a new environment. A nongovernmental organization such as Puki helps in the transition."

During a six-month trial period, Puki helped Wang Yuefei find his first full-time job and hired another two people with hearing impairments for a probationary period. "We run a one-plus-three or one-plus-four system, which means a volunteer is helping three to four people with hearing difficulties. As a result we need more volunteers," said Xiao.

Meanwhile, Wang, who works in a high-rise downtown building, is sitting in front of his computer and happily communicating with colleagues using instant messaging systems. "I have volunteered to teach my colleagues sign language in my spare time," he said. "They're eager to learn."

The young man said he still remembered his interview with the company. "There're competitors with higher education backgrounds than mine but I have that 120-page government project in my hands," he said. "I guess the company values practical performance more."

Lily Liu, the recruitment manager at Mecox Lane Ltd, China's largest mail order company by sales, said she was surprised how well those with hearing impairments perform at work.

"For example, we've got two (hearing-impaired) photographers at the studio. There may be beautiful models walking around and rock 'n' roll music blaring in the background but they don't get distracted and concentrate harder because of their impairment," she said. "They've become very popular with our catalog clients."