26,000 DWP staff to receive Microsoft accessibility training

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to train 26,000 DWP work coaches to help jobseekers with disabilities get support and guidance when looking for employment.

The DWP staff will be trained in accessibility fundamentals and how to use Microsoft tools such as immersive reader, magnifier and automated captions. The Accessibility Fundamentals training will be offered to DWP work coaches from May.

This will enable coaches to create accessible experiences for jobseekers and show them how they can use those free tools at home to get support with the use of technology in the recruitment process and the increasingly digital workplace.

“The steps we are taking with the DWP are an example of the right intervention being deployed at the right time and at the required scale. We have been using this accessibility training at Microsoft for the past three years and know the impact it has made on our own employees’ ability and confidence to support people with disabilities,” said Hector Minto, Senior Tech Evangelist at Microsoft UK. “The work coach training programme has the potential to fundamentally transform the relationship between the job candidate with a disability and the job coach, and to ensure trusted advice extends to all UK citizens.”