National Apprenticeship Week 2020 is now in full swing
This annual celebration of apprenticeships highlights the benefits of apprenticeships on individuals, employers and the economy.
National Apprenticeship Week is now in its 13th year, and the theme this year is ‘Look Beyond’, which celebrates the diversity in apprenticeships today.
Apprenticeships are a tried and tested route into high-skilled careers, but accessing and applying for an apprenticeship can be difficult for people with disabilities and learning conditions without the right support.
Digital accessibility matters for apprentices
Over 80,000 of the young people who sat their GCSEs in 2018 had dyslexia, yet nearly nine out of ten young people with dyslexia will leave school without being diagnosed.
Many of these young people will want to go on and serve an apprenticeship, which is why the apprenticeship recruitment/application process must be accessible and inclusive for everyone.
It is well-known that key UK industries like construction and engineering, which rely heavily on apprenticeships, need to continue to increase the diversity of their workforces.
Again, this underlines the need to ensure that recruitment/application processes for apprenticeships must be accessible and inclusive for everyone.
Making online apprenticeship applications accessible
In the 21st century, this means ensuring online application forms and supporting materials can be easily accessed.
That’s why the Recite Me assistive toolbar is already being used on the websites of various recruitment and employment-related organisations like EqualEngineers, Sir Robert McAlpine, Tesco Bank, VERCIDA, Guidant Global, Morson Group and Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI),
Recite Me is an innovative cloud-based web accessibility solution that allows website visitors to customise any website the way they need it to work for them.
Recite Me’s innovative toolbar software makes websites accessible through a unique range of features including: text to speech functionality, dyslexia software, zoom and page masking, an interactive dictionary, a translation tool with over 100 languages.
Recite Me’s web accessibility and language assistive toolbar ensures that routes into employment, including any apprenticeship schemes, are more accessible.
Recite Me helps Morson to place more jobseekers with disabilities
Rebekah Lee, Head of Marketing at Morson Group said: “As a recruitment agency, Morson are gatekeepers who can open the doors to the world of work for people with disabilities.
“Therefore, we have a responsibility to our candidate community to reduce the barriers in place that may hold people back from applying for roles.
“Committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process, we added Recite Me’s web accessibility software to our website which has revolutionised the way we engage with candidates online.
“The technology ensures every part of our recruitment process is accessible to everyone, from browsing to making an application.
“By using Recite Me we can ensure that every candidate gets an equal chance at developing their career by being able to access the same opportunities to gain and maintain employment.
“Recite Me is one of the key ways we are realising our mission to ensure that there are no barriers in place to hold talented people back”.
Ultimately, the right online accessibility support like Recite Me can make a huge difference for young people with disabilities by ensuring they can access websites to apply for apprenticeships and jobs with ease.
1000’s of organisations already use Recite Me to make their websites more accessible for online visitors. To find out more or to book your free trial please contact the team.
