Accessibility Courses and Certifications

It’s good to see there is increased interest to pursue career in the area of accessibility. There are also growing opportunities. It’s important to have more people with accessibility knowledge so that more products become accessible. Now that many things including education are going virtual, it’s important that supporting technology is accessible. Here is a quick list of accessibility training programs and certifications.

Accessibility Trainings / Courses

There are several organizations that host on-demand accessibility trainings. Some offer in-person and some are virtual. Some of the organizations that offer accessibility training are:

• Learning at BarrierBreak As of this writing, there are two free courses listed. That are Understanding disability and Creating Accessible Word documents.
• Deque University – Offers courses on Web Accessibility, Document accessibility and preparation courses for IAAP Certifications. While offerings are commercial, they provide scholarships to people with disabilities.
• The Paciello Group – TPG offers trainings both on-site and through series of webinars for designers, developers, testers and other stake holders on web and mobile accessibility. TPG also has a few self-paced trainings via their TPG Tutor platform
• Knowbility – have 17 instructor-led, hands on training programs that they can deliver as is or customize as per needs of an organization. They host variety of online events to promote accessibility. They intend to provide online courses in the near future.
• Level Access – Offers trainings with various options such as classroom training, small group instruction, side-by-side coding with your developers.
• WebAIM – with a stratagy of educating and empowering customers about accessibility, WebAIM brings seminars to onsite as well as host a few training events at Utah State University
• We at ServeOM Inclusion offer training programs to small and medium level organizations. We also offer training to freelance consultants. Reach us on +91 6366 778 991 for more details.

Certifications

W3C offers an introductory course through edX platform. This course is free; however, to get a verified certification, there is a fee. The course is interactive and taught directly by staff of Web Accessibility Initiative Group of W3C.

US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Trusted Tester is a process that offers in-depth self paced online training on Section 508 standards and provide certification as DHS Trusted Tester with a Trusted Tester number. To qualify to attempt final exam, one must score minimum of 90% in practice exams. Once user registers for practice exam, they must pass witin 30 days. Once enrolled for final exam, user must complete within 10 days and score minimum of 90%.

International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) offers following certifications:

• Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies
• Web Accessibility Specialist
• Certified Professional in Accessible Built Environment

I personally have felt DHS Trusted Tester Certification Content has in-depth with examples and practice assignments. This is a great place for thorough learning about accessibility. For CPACC exam, I found course material available on Deque University useful.

Let’s help more people to get certified and join family of accessibility professionals.