Skills needed-for-a-job-in-accessibility
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This document summarizes a presentation on skills required for careers in accessibility. It details results from tracking over 1,800 accessibility-related job postings over 10 months, finding that about half were for developers or testers. Non-technical roles like UX design also require accessibility knowledge. Legal actions against organizations often lead to both internal mitigation efforts and new hiring, as post-settlement requirements include ongoing accessibility processes. A variety of career opportunities in accessibility exist across different sectors like education and private companies.
Skills needed-for-a-job-in-accessibility
- 1. SKILLS YOU NEED TO WORK IN ACCESSIBILITY Deeper dive into real skills required to work in the field Elianna James, President ‘I Break Websites LLC’ Presented at AHG conference, November, 2016 I Break Websites LLC ©
- 2. A YEAR OF JOB ALERTS • Sources: Indeed.com and simplyhired.com • Set up multiple alerts using Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com • Shifted from “accessibility” as a keyword to “WCAG” because ’accessibility’ is too broad a term in English. • The word brings in results that “if our website is not accessible please call xxx” • “Access” to San Diego’s lovely beaches • “Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Access databases…” • Analyzed results from January 1, 2016 to November 8, 2016 • @1800 unique jobs in this time period I Break Websites LLC ©
- 3. WHY TRACK JOBS IN A11Y? 1. Started with hypothesis that increased legal actions would result in increased hiring as part of mitigation strategies. 2. Looking for common threads in job listings of keywords, skills needed to compete successfully for those jobs. 3. See if job postings would remain elevated. 4. Determine if job postings reflected actual skills needed to do a good job. 5. Track jobs that were non-technical in nature, but required understanding of A11y principles I Break Websites LLC ©
- 4. WHAT KINDS OF JOBS AND WHERE? • Solid half are developers or software testers • Front End Developer, NY City (staff developer) • Full Stack .Net Developer, Minneapolis, MN (contract) • Lead Front End Architect, Austin, TX • Section 508 Compliance Tester/ Analyst, Washington, DC (contractor needing secret security clearance) • Senior Quality Assurance Analyst, Urbana-Champaign, IL (U of Illinois) • Competitive candidates are heavily experienced with technical skills. • Now WCAG 2.0, JAWS, NVDA, WAI ARIA are expected. • Proven track record of building/ testing websites or apps that comply with ADA and other a11y regulations/ guidelines I Break Websites LLC ©
- 5. NON-TECHNICAL JOBS • A LOT of UX and UI designers are expected to know about, champion and explain accessibility to multiple stakeholders • UX/UI Designer, Tampa, FL (Willis Towers Watson) • Wireframing, user research, strong knowledge of Photoshop, familiarity with WCAG and ADA • UX Design Lead, Omaha, NE (D3 Banking) • Mockups based on heavy analysis with stakeholder teams, user research, ensure that all designs adhere to WCAG and ADA • Accessibility Consultant, Phoenix, AZ • Extensive knowledge of WCAG 2.0, accessibility audit, QA tools and processes, JAWS/ NVDA, HTML/CSS, Javascript and web content management systems I Break Websites LLC ©
- 6. WHO, WHAT, WHEN? • Who? • Technical jobs - Developers and QA (test) skills account for roughly ½ of the job opportunities posted on indeed and simply hired • Variety of “non technical” jobs make up the other half • What? • Usual job skills for the position ++ WCAG, Section 508, ADA • How can we demonstrate competence? • When? • Start now and keep learning I Break Websites LLC ©
- 7. WHERE, WHY AND HOW? STUDENTS • Where? • Begin where you are: easiest and you have the most contacts • Student - look for on campus opportunities • Office of Disability Services • Note takers • Learn about how to use Assistive Technology including in devices you have already (like your iPhone!) • Computer classes - take any that teach Universal Design I Break Websites LLC ©
- 8. WHERE, WHY AND HOW? FACULTY • Faculty - • Jobs have posted in past year in 32 states and the District of Columbia • More and more faculty positions have a passing reference to accessibility as universities discover they are liable for providing accessible education • Be prepared for what alternative format means • Learn how to create accessible documents • WKU sum up on creating online course material accessible (visual, hearing, learning disabilities, color blindness, neurological disorders • Shout out to Amy Netzel, formerly of Wake Tech in NC for making great, short videos on accessible Multimedia and other topics • AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disability = webinars: Last year’s most relevant might be ‘What’s AT? I’m not a tech Geek - Help!’ I Break Websites LLC ©
- 9. WHERE, WHY AND HOW? MANAGEMENT & STAFF • Recent Examples: • Ohio State University, Sr. Dir, Web Development & Ops, $100k • Technical job where successful applicant absolutely needs deep WCAG knowledge as they lead this university to compliance • University of Cincinnati, Instructional Technologist - Accessibility Specialist • eLearning, works across university to ensure all course content is fully accessible • (average salary for this job title in US = $51K without accessibility, $55K or more with those skills) • University of Rhode Island, Digital Content Strategist, $55 - $69K • Creating university website content (content leadership including: branding, design workflows, “focus on usability and accessibility”) I Break Websites LLC ©
- 10. MORE JOBS • California State University, IT Program Coordinator, $3800 - $4700 month • Focus is on supporting the campus-wide Accessibility Technology Initiative. Implementation of the process and program designed to make sure that all tech is accessible, that complaints are dealt with speedily. Procurement major piece. • Community College of Denver, Competency Based Education (CBE), Instructional Designer 0.75 FTE, $3235 month • Work with faculty and admin to develop, design, implement credit-based, competency based programs. Must meet WCAG Level 2 AA I Break Websites LLC ©
- 11. DO LEGAL ACTIONS TRIGGER HIRING? Yes, directly and indirectly. All settlements to date have included mitigation of offending websites and materials AND… the mandate to put in place ongoing processes to ensure accessibility is built in to future website development and curriculum materials. This means tasking existing personnel to pick up this work OR.. It means hiring new, qualified people.
- 12. I Break Websites LLC © Credit for chart to Seyfarth Shaw LLP From Jan 2015 - Oct 2016
- 13. UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX I Break Websites LLC © Facts: Lawsuit brought against University of Phoenix December, 2014 Settlement, June 2015 w/ DOE and OCR VP of Accessibility & Diversity Strategy, October, 2016
- 14. MIAMI UNIVERSITY - OHIO • Facts: • lawsuit brought against Miami University, (Ohio), January, 2014 • Settlement, October, 2016 w/ DOJ • • Associate Director Student Disability Services, October, 2016 I Break Websites LLC ©
- 15. A11Y SPECIALIST - WCAG I Break Websites LLC ©
- 16. WRAPPING IT UP • What skills do you need to make a career related to accessibility? • Technical very desired - software - Assistive Technology • Semantically correct, clean HTML/ CSS/ JavaScript • Understanding of accessibility APIs • Knowledge of how Assistive Technology consumes and conveys information • PDFs, Video, Word documents • Create natively accessible media • Ability to tell stories - evangelizing - creating safe space • You will be the person everyone in your sphere looks to when it comes to any question about accessibility • Learn and share, repeat the process. Bring in everyone (inclusion) I Break Websites LLC ©
- 17. QUESTIONS? • Do you really want to be a pioneer? • How much training will this take? • What kind of money can you earn? • What is your burning question? I Break Websites LLC ©
- 18. LATEST ON TRENDS - LAWS AND HIGHER ED • https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/07/disability-rights-advocates-shift- strategies-ensure-equal-rights-digital-age • “Thirteen higher education organizations -- including the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, Educause, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities -- last month came together to comment on the proposed rules. “ I Break Websites LLC ©
- 19. THANK YOU! • elianna james • President, ‘I Break Websites LLC’ • eliannaj@yahoo.com • http://ibreakwebsites.com • https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliannaj • 720-425-1001 • Keep the conversation going! I Break Websites LLC ©