Accessibility

There are more than nine million disabled people in the UK. At least two million people experience serious sight problems. Increasing numbers of disabled people use the internet for information, shopping, study, work and entertainment. However, disabled people find that many web sites are extremely difficult to use because of the way they have been designed.

The Highlands and Islands Enterprise network is committed to making its output as accessible as possible to all audiences (including those with visual, hearing, cognitive or motor impairments) to fulfil its public service mandate and to meet its requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act. We continually test our web sites with a number of browsers, screen readers, accessibility and HTML validators, and other web tools. The results of such reviews are incorporated into improvements for our sites.

HIE web sites include the following features designed to improve accessibility for users with disabilities:

• A text-only facility and sitemap are available on every page.
• The text-only pages - similar to the BBC's 'Betsie' pages - can be adjusted to suit the text size and colour needs of different users.
• Images on the site contain 'alt tags', which contain simple descriptions of the images to aid users who listen to the content of the site by using a screen reader. 
• Invisible 'jump to content' links at the top of each page enable people using text-to-voice browsers to bypass the navigation bar and go directly to the main content each time a page is accessed.
• Text links are formatted to be as self-evident as they can possibly be.
• The site's style sheets are designed to allow users to resize the text of the site in browsers that support this feature (generally available under the View menu).
• Links to external sites open in a new window. Note: Highlands and Islands Enterprise is not responsible for the content or accessibility of these referenced sites.
• The site implements cascading style sheets (CSS). Certain early versions of Netscape (4.x and earlier) and Internet Explorer (3.x and earlier) do not fully support this feature, so elements such as links may display differently. If you are experiencing this, you may wish to disable style sheets. You can do this through your browser. In Explorer (5.50), choose Tools, Internet Options, General Tab, Accessibility, and check the 'Format documents using my style sheet' feature. In Netscape (4.75), choose Edit, Preferences, Advanced, and turn off the 'enable style sheets' feature.
• Layout is accomplished mainly with CSS and tables but the site is also designed to display well if CSS is not supported. Form controls are properly grouped and labelled.  

If you have difficulty viewing any page using assistive technology, please use our online enquiry form so that we can make the information available to you. Please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the format in which you would like to receive the material, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information.

From time to time, HIE undertakes new web site developments and experiments with new web-based processes. During their development and testing phases, it is possible that they may not comply with our accessibility standards. Please be reassured, we will make all efforts to ensure we bring these new developments into line at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Learningworks website, for example, is designed to be visually attractive to sighted younger people, but does not work in text-only - and, therefore, text-to-voice formats. If you would like to browse the Learningworks short course directory in text-only format, you can use the HIE website's events calendar If you cannot access this site and would like further information about its content, please contact: graham.young@hient.co.uk

Many of the links on our web sites point to forms and publications in Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF) or Microsoft® formats. Both companies offer tools and information to increase the accessibility of documents. See the related links here to find out more.
 
If you have any questions or comments or need to contact us in connection with this policy, please use our online enquiry form - or contact us using the information at the foot of this page.

Also, for interest...

Careers Scotland, delivered by HIE in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, has recently been involved in a 'project-within-a-project' to tap into an exciting challenge:

By Hands and Feet across Greenland 2006 - the first inclusive crossing of Greenland by a British woman.

One of the expedition team members - Karen Darke who lives in Grantown on Spey -  is paralysed from the chest down. 

Careers Scotland - Inverness and East Highland locality - tapped-into this expedition's challenges as a vehicle for school pupils in four Strathspey schools to develop essential life and work-related skills. 

By using the challenges Karen faced in crossing Greenland by ski to capture the imagination of the schools' pupils, Careers Scotland staff worked with them to explore the challenges they face as they made educational transitions. This process increased the school pupils' self-awareness, their ability to make realistic plans and reflect on their performance. These skills will enable them to become confident and career-resilient members of their community and workforce in the future.

Learn more about Karen Darke and the Greenland expedition

The HIE site's e-business section contains some useful articles about accessibility. See, for example, the article: Access all areas of the web

The Scottish Accessible Information Forum (SAIF) is an organisation funded by the Scottish Executive to promote accessible information for disabled people. They have produced a range of guidance materials including the SAIF Standards for Disability Information and Advice Provision in Scotland. A link to their web site and a downloadable copy of their business bulletin is included in this page.

WAI Stamp.

WAI Stamp.