Introduction to accessibility standards and training

Introduction to accessibility standards and training

Introduction

There are two main ways of embedding accessibility in your organisation. One, is to embed it into your products and services by using accessibility standards. The second is to embed it into your people, through a change management approach that includes: 

• Accessibility training 
• Communication 
• Monitoring of adoption 
• Interventions to improve adoption where necessary. 

This resource outlines the role of accessibility standards and training, and where to look for more information. 

Video – Accessibility standards and training

Lucy Ruck, BDF Taskforce Manager talks to Denise Wood, Head of Digital Accessibility at PwC UK and Technology Taskforce member. They discuss the role of accessibility standards, how to integrate them into an organisation, and why businesses shouldn’t rely on standards alone. 

What are IT accessibility standards?

In short, IT accessibility standards are a set of parameters that guide organisations towards accessible technology.  

Organisations can set their own accessibility standards, but we recommend using external standards. This saves a significant amount of time creating and maintaining a standard, as there are a number of options available. Furthermore, it enables external users to be confident that your product or service is genuinely accessible. 

How should organisations use IT accessibility standards?

IT accessibility standards can form the basis of your IT accessibility policies and practices, and be embedded into your organisation’s day-to-day activities. For example, you can specify that teams create web content that meets the most recent WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standard. 

You can also apply standards during procurement. For example, you could require suppliers to meet a specific standard when delivering a product or service. The appropriate standard will depend on the organisation’s priorities and the nature of the product. 

What IT accessibility standards are available?

There are a number of standards available – we outline eight of the most commonly used below. It is not necessary to try to conform to them all – some will not be applicable depending on location, sector or nature of work. 

However, we recommend two in particular – WCAG and ISO 9241-171:2008 – as the basis of your IT accessibility policies and practices. 

The accessibility standards outlined in this Toolkit are: 

• ISO 9241-171:2008 – Part 171: Guidance on software accessibility 
• WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 
• Accessibility standards for mobile devices 
• European Standard EN 301 549 
• US Section 508 standards 
• British Standard BS 8878:2010 
• Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ACAG) 
• User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG). 

See our resource, ‘IT accessibility standards,’ for a detailed explanation of each of these standards. 

Further information

We have further resources with guidance on accessibility standards: 

• IT accessibility standards 
• Barclays – POUR: The guiding principles of accessibility 
• Barclays – Inclusive design principles 

Accessibility training

Another way of embedding accessibility in your organisation is through accessibility training. 

Who should receive accessibility training?

We believe that everyone in your organisation should have some understanding of accessibility. All of us interact with other people as part of our job, and some of those people will be disabled. Therefore, we all need to understand the principles of accessibility that will prevent us from excluding disabled people. 

The level of knowledge that is appropriate will vary from role to role. We have identified four levels of knowledge: 

• Getting started – This is the minimum level that everyone in the organisation should have. 
• Learning more – This level of information is relevant for roles that are not necessarily tech-focused but have a greater level of responsibility. For example, roles that involve project management, analysing business requirements, or purchasing technology solutions.  
• Advanced – This concerns the specifics of creating accessible content. It is relevant for roles such as developers, testers and designers. 
• Specialist – This concerns assistive technology and integrating it with core business systems. This includes tech support and any role that relates to implementing workplace adjustments. 

Our resource, ‘Accessibility training: A guide to available resources,’ has examples of training courses available at each of these levels. 

Further information 

We have further resources with guidance on accessibility training: 

• Accessibility training: A guide to available resources 
• Accessibility training for IT professionals 
• Ensuring accessible e-learning.