{"id":125723,"date":"2023-05-04T09:01:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T08:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=125723"},"modified":"2023-05-03T10:57:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T09:57:01","slug":"investing-staff-training-buisiness-more-accessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/hr-skills-news\/investing-staff-training-buisiness-more-accessible\/125723\/","title":{"rendered":"How investing in staff training can make your business more accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a growing awareness among employers that making premises accessible should also include staff training. In this article, About Access explores how training staff on the requirements\u00a0of disabled colleagues and visitors makes your business more accessible<\/h2>\n

One of About Access’ projects is working with a client to remove the barriers that can\u00a0prevent disabled people from pursuing their choice of career.<\/p>\n

By building training programmes<\/a> for existing employees, the organisation is taking its commitment further than many businesses. As a recruitment consultancy, the client can also share and encourage best practices across various businesses and sectors.<\/p>\n

The business also stands out from the crowd for its focus on finding disabled candidates for senior management posts, thereby rejecting any stereotypes linking disabled people purely with menial roles.<\/p>\n

About Access is developing a programme of online training services<\/h3>\n

This approach will create a number of modules designed to inform and support various participants such as senior managers, service teams, HR, and anybody whose role involves making the workplace accessible.<\/p>\n

About Access expect to receive more enquiries as other employers realise there is more to accessibility than making premises accessible.<\/a><\/p>\n

Broadening accessibility training will help to give staff a better understanding of disability in all forms<\/h3>\n

The client aimed to ensure that all of their sites were accessible. One specific problem that arose was concerning new security gates.<\/p>\n

During normal working hours, the gates were accessible. However, at other times of the day and night, people used a different entrance which was not accessible.<\/p>\n

By broadening the accessibility commitment and providing training to current staff, employers will give their people a better understanding of what disability is in all its forms. They will also help staff to recognise the existing barriers to access within their working environment and avoid inadvertently creating more obstacles.<\/p>\n

About Access became aware of the opportunity through contacts in the accessibility sector<\/h3>\n

Other organisations, from SMEs to national businesses and international operations, also need this support. As a business with experience working globally in various territories and regulatory regimes, About Access was selected for the task.<\/p>\n

What all the employers have in common is the recognition that improving accessibility and the knowledge around it is a good use of resources, investing in people already working in the business and preparing them to welcome new colleagues who have a disability or to support existing colleagues who become disabled.<\/p>\n

Most employers are aware of the benefits of making an environment more accessible<\/h3>\n

Most employers will be aware of at least some of the benefits. Adherence to The Equality Act 2010 and demonstration of a strong CSR commitment are two of the more bureaucratic examples. But progressive and creative businesses will easily come up with others.<\/p>\n

Increasing the diversity of your workforce is always a good thing to do. The people we are working for clearly recognise the value that disabled people can complete all sorts of duties and tasks to the same standards as everybody else and for the same rewards.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s well known that some industries benefit from the skills which disabled people can apply to specific roles, an example being people on the autistic spectrum who are known to be particularly strong in computing and associated fields.<\/p>\n

Some of the features which disabled people need<\/a> to gain access to a workplace include:<\/p>\n