Islanders to benefit from accessibility training

Wednesday 22 September 2021

AccessAble will be visiting Guernsey over the next three weeks to provide accessibility training and to add more venues to their online accessibility guide.

The first training session was held yesterday in collaboration with AccessAble and there is another opportunity to attend in October.

AccessAble have been contracted to provide a 'Guide for Guernsey' for several years now. It consists of accessibility information for around 500 venues on the island.

The guides are available for venues all over the UK and can be found on the AccessAble website and app.

In Guernsey it is estimated that 13,000 islanders live with a disability and 4,000 act as unpaid carers. 

Accessibility is important, not just for those living with a disability themselves, but also for carers and parents who need accessible approaches every day.

Gill Evans, the States of Guernsey Disability Officer said: 

“The guide is a useful tool for many people as it provides information for different venues, not only about access, but also the facilities that are available and what the environment is like.

“To many people, this information is invaluable when they are planning to visit somewhere, particularly for the first time.”

The new Distribution Ordinance is due to come into force at the end of 2022, where businesses will need to make an access audit and a five-year action plan to improve their accessibility.

This training with AccessAble will be especially useful for businesses to find out more about how to improve their accessibility.

The next training session takes place on Wednesday 20 October at 15:00. It'll take place in The Meeting Room at the Guernsey Information Centre or can be joined remotely via Microsoft Teams.

To book your space or request the Microsoft Teams link for the next session, contact gill.evans@gov.gg.