WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: certification

for

From: David R. Stong
Date: Jan 5, 2005 3:53AM

Glenda asked:
>Is it fair to say that there is not yet any widely accepted certification in
>web accessibility? That a manager assessing a job candidate's
>expertise/skill level in web accessibility would need to consider
>experience, any relevant courses taken and perhaps references, rather than
>simply the presence or absence of certification?


From my point of view, I would say that's a fair assessment. Who
would certify the certifiers?

I think it's detrimental to the education of effective Web designers
to teach "Accessibility" as a component separate from Web design.
It's not. The term gives higher visibility to a number of specific
aspects of Web design, but keeping it separate- in effect "pigeon
holed"- can't be good. Being able to create pages that are compliant
with all standards should be a quality of any entry level Web
designer.

For managers seeking to assess a job candidate's expertise, I would
suggest running some of the Web sites in the candidate's portfolio
through the W3C code validator and the "Accessibility Checker" of
your choice. Do it during the interview, and use it to stimulate
discussion.

Let the great Oz hand out the certificates.


















--
David R. Stong
Multimedia Specialist 3

Education Technology Services, a small unit within
Information Technology Services, at
The Pennsylvania State University
212 Rider Building II
State College, PA 16801-4819