As part of Employability Day 2020, our Technical Account Manager for the Shaw Trust Accessibility Services, Graham, took part in a webinar focusing on digital accessibility in recruitment. 

The webinar was organised by the Shaw Trust and included a number of experts within the inclusion and employment space. This year’s theme was centred around  COVID-19 and how it had affected employability. It focused on the recruitment space within Shaw Trust, and looked at what other organisations have been doing in support of candidates. 

The Employability Day Webinar

The webinar welcomed people from around the world to join and listen to the experts talk about inclusive employment. 

The virtual event commenced with a welcome talk from the Employability Director at Shaw Trust, Austin Hardie.

Our Technical Account Manager, Graham, also appeared alongside other employability experts, the event included: 

  • Richard Clinton, Chief Operating Officer of Shaw Trust Care Academy.
  • Nancy Doyle, CEO and Co-Founder of Genius Within.
  • Integral UK 
  • Supply chain partners of Shaw Trust

Graham’s talk specifically focused on the subject of digital accessibility in recruitment. In the webinar, he spoke about the importance of accessibility when creating digital services. Specifically about how and why organisations should make digital services, such as recruitment systems accessible. 

Key points in his presentation included: 

  • Accessibility provisions aren’t just beneficial for the disabled – but everyone. 
  • Explaining assistive technology and how it works to benefit disabled users.
  • The importance of disabled people being able to apply for jobs without assistance from another person. 
  • The technical considerations of accessibility – what to look out for when creating a digital service. 
  • Top tips on how to start thinking of accessibility first.

Shaw Trust Accessibility Services and Employment

Shaw Trust’s aim is to provide employment opportunities, training and support to those with disabilities. This webinar was a great opportunity to share Shaw Trust’s expertise on employability and speak with suppliers and other organisations concerned with inclusive employment. Helping more than 50,000 people nationwide, the Shaw Trust employs over 4,000 staff and has a network of 1,000 volunteers. 

Shaw Trust Accessibility Services is proud to be an enterprise within Shaw Trust. As an enterprise, reliant on reporting the experiences of disabled people, most of the staff and volunteers in the service have a disability. Their experience with websites and digital services allows us to demonstrate to organisations what is causing barriers within their digital environments and how they can be overcome. 

Working with Accessibility Services

With our pan-disabled user testing team, we’re able to test digital services and provide accurate feedback and reporting on the obstacles that disabled users face. 

This service is more crucial now than ever, with an increasing focus on web accessibility, and the Public Sector Accessibility Regulations, there has never been a greater time to commence your accessibility journey.