Why create accessible and inclusive learning content?
“Our mission at eLaHub is to improve the learning experience for everyone, including people with disabilities and access needs.”
Susi Miller founder and Director of eLaHub
Here are 5 reasons it should matter to you!
1. You need to create content that is legally compliant
The majority of countries worldwide have legislation regarding the accessibility of digital services and the new European Accessibility Act (EAA) comes into force in 2025. If your content is not accessible you could be breaking the law and liable to penalties. Not sure on the legislation in your region? Check here Web Accessibility Laws & Policies | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C. Most legislation is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the most updated version WCAG 2.2 was published in Autumn 2023.
2. A commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) should include accessible training
The World Economic Forum estimated in 2019 that although 90% of companies prioritised diversity, only 4% considered disability. That’s why any organisation committed to DEI needs to prove that they are also committed to accessibility and make sure that all their staff can participate in their online learning and mandatory training, regardless of any disability or access need.
3. Can you afford to exclude 25% of your workforce?
A recent survey by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), covering 28,000 employees in 16 countries found that some 25% identified as having a disability or health condition. If your content is not fully accessible, you are potentially impacting 25% of your staff. Read the full report by BCG here Improving Disability Inclusion and Accessibility in the Workplace (bcg.com)
4. Creating accessible and inclusive learning content benefits all your learners
It’s a common myth in the L&D industry, that fully accessible learning content is boring and ineffective. Our research and feedback from working with organisations worldwide proves beyond a doubt that this is not the case. By making learning content versatile and accommodating, your learning will be able to meet the unique circumstances, environments and preferences of each learner.
5. You can future proof your content
Your learners don’t stay the same. It’s estimated that 2% of the working age population becomes disabled every year. Add to that the vision, hearing and cognitive changes that we all naturally experience as we grow older and the case for accessible learning grows ever louder. Accessibility is the guarantee that your learning content is always ready for these changes in your workforce.
eLaHub founder Susi Miller, is the leading authority in creating accessible and inclusive learning content and the author of Designing Accessible Learning Content considered the ‘standard work in our field’ for eLearning professionals.
Over 210 organisations and over 1500 delegates have all recognised the benefits of our eLearning accessibility training.
Find out more about our unique self-access online Designing Accessible Learning Content Programme and our other services to support organisations who aspire to creating accessible and inclusive learning content.
Some of the organisations we’ve delivered training to
