Accessibility Statement for SkillForge Academy

Our Commitment to Accessibility

At SkillForge Academy, we are committed to ensuring that our website and online learning platform are accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. We believe that everyone should have equal access to education and opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge. This Accessibility Statement outlines our ongoing efforts to provide an inclusive and user-friendly experience for all users.

We are dedicated to continuously improving the accessibility of our website and online courses, and we welcome feedback from our users to help us achieve this goal. We strive to adhere to the highest accessibility standards and guidelines to ensure that our content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all individuals, regardless of their abilities.

Accessibility Standards and Guidelines

SkillForge Academy is committed to adhering to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, a set of guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. These guidelines provide a comprehensive framework for creating accessible websites and applications.

We regularly review and update our website and online courses to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. Our efforts include, but are not limited to:

• Providing alternative text for all images and non-text content. This ensures that users who are unable to see images can still understand the content through screen readers.
• Ensuring sufficient color contrast between text and background colors to improve readability for users with visual impairments.
• Using clear and simple language to make our content easier to understand for users with cognitive disabilities.
• Providing captions and transcripts for all video and audio content to make it accessible to users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Ensuring that our website is fully navigable using a keyboard for users who are unable to use a mouse.
• Designing our website with a responsive layout to ensure that it is accessible on a variety of devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
• Regularly testing our website and online courses with assistive technologies, such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, to identify and address any accessibility issues.
• Offering customizable text sizes and fonts to accommodate individual user preferences.

Specific Accessibility Features Implemented

Semantic HTML Structure

We use semantic HTML5 elements such as <article> , <nav> , <aside> , <header> , <footer> , and <main> to provide a clear and structured layout of the content, allowing screen readers to effectively navigate the page.

ARIA Attributes

We strategically use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes to enhance the accessibility of interactive elements and dynamic content. This includes:

• aria-label : Providing descriptive labels for links and buttons.
• aria-describedby : Linking elements to descriptive text.
• aria-live : Announcing dynamic content updates to screen readers.
• aria-expanded : Indicating the state of expandable/collapsible elements.

Keyboard Navigation

Our website is designed to be fully navigable using a keyboard. Users can easily navigate through links, buttons, and form elements using the Tab key. Focus indicators are clearly visible to help users understand their current position on the page.

Form Accessibility

We ensure that all form elements are properly labeled using the <label> tag. Each label is associated with its corresponding input field using the for attribute, making it easier for users to understand the purpose of each form field.

Dynamic Content Updates

We use ARIA live regions to announce dynamic content updates to screen readers. This ensures that users are notified of changes in the page content without having to manually refresh the page. This is particularly important for interactive elements such as chat windows, notifications, and progress bars.

Ongoing Efforts

SkillForge Academy is committed to maintaining and improving the accessibility of our website and online courses on an ongoing basis. We regularly conduct accessibility audits and user testing to identify and address any accessibility issues. We also provide accessibility training to our staff to ensure that they are aware of the latest accessibility standards and best practices.

As part of our ongoing efforts, we are working on the following:

• Implementing automated accessibility testing tools to continuously monitor the accessibility of our website and online courses.
• Developing a formal accessibility policy to guide our accessibility efforts.
• Creating a user-friendly feedback mechanism to allow users to report accessibility issues and provide suggestions for improvement.
• Partnering with disability organizations to gain insights and best practices on accessibility.

Known Limitations

Despite our best efforts to ensure accessibility, there may be some limitations on our website and online courses. These limitations may include:

• Some older content may not be fully accessible. We are working to remediate this content as quickly as possible.
• Some third-party tools and plugins may not be fully accessible. We are working with our vendors to address these issues.

If you encounter any accessibility issues on our website or online courses, please contact us using the contact information provided below.

Feedback and Contact Information

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of our website and online courses. If you have any comments, suggestions, or encounter any accessibility barriers, please contact us:

• Email: accessibility@skillforgeacademy.com
• Phone: (415) 555-0123
• Mailing Address: Accessibility Department, SkillForge Academy, 500 Market Street, Suite 1600, San Francisco, CA 94105

We will do our best to respond to your feedback within five business days.

Formal Accessibility Audit Details

SkillForge Academy commissioned an independent accessibility audit conducted by Accessible Web Solutions (AWS) on October 26, 2024. The audit included a comprehensive review of our website's compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines.

AWS utilized a combination of automated testing tools and manual assessments to evaluate the accessibility of various website components, including:

• HTML structure and semantic markup
• Color contrast and readability
• Keyboard navigation and focus management
• Form accessibility and error handling
• Multimedia accessibility (captions and transcripts)

The audit identified several areas for improvement, including:

• Inadequate alternative text for some images
• Insufficient color contrast on certain UI elements
• Lack of ARIA attributes for dynamic content

SkillForge Academy has developed a remediation plan to address the identified issues and ensure ongoing compliance with accessibility standards. The remediation plan includes:

• Updating alternative text for all images based on the audit report
• Adjusting color contrast ratios to meet WCAG guidelines
• Implementing ARIA attributes for dynamic content updates
• Providing accessibility training to our content creators and developers

The remediation plan is currently in progress, and we expect to complete all necessary updates by December 31, 2024. We are committed to transparency and will publish a follow-up report detailing the completed remediation efforts.

Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)

The following table summarizes SkillForge Academy's conformance to the WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines, based on the accessibility audit conducted by Accessible Web Solutions (AWS) on October 26, 2024. Each criterion is rated as "Supports," "Partially Supports," or "Does Not Support."