It is important that staff of maritime passenger transport operators understand the needs of passengers with reduced mobility and that they are able to respond to their needs appropriately. One of the most effective ways of ensuring staff develop an understanding of the needs of passengers with reduced mobility is to implement an appropriate training programme.
Disability equality training allows learners to explore disability within the wider context of equality and social inclusion, with full recognition of the rights of people with disabilities to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life of society. In this way it goes much further than traditional awareness training, which might, however, represent an appropriate first step in staff training. Disability equality training encourages learners to identify the changes in personal and organisational behaviour required to ensure equal access to services for people with disabilities. It takes a holistic view of an organisation, and focuses on the broad range of changes that may be required to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to the services provided by the organisation. Such changes may include changes to facilities, policies and procedures. The extent of disability equality training to be provided will depend on the size of the organisation, the turnover of staff and the nature of services being provided.
All staff need some level of training in disability issues, including frontline/customer-facing staff, managers, administrative staff and technical staff. It is important that external contractors are trained to the same level as directly employed staff, particularly security officers or cleaning staff who have direct contact with customers.
Operators should also ensure that those engaged to provide professional services (such as architects, graphic designers and web designers) should have a deep understanding of disability and accessibility issues. Everybody in the operator's organisation should understand the needs of passengers with reduced mobility as they relate to their own jobs, so that all members of staff can provide good quality, appropriate and respectful service to passengers with reduced mobility. It could fall to any staff member to deal with a problem that a passenger might have, so it is important that all staff are trained to deal with all passengers appropriately. Staff who have undergone training on disability issues will also be better prepared to work alongside colleagues with disabilities.
Not all staff members require the same level of training on disability issues, and training should be appropriate for each category of staff, consistent with their functions within the organisation. Senior managers, for example, will need to know more about the law. They will also need to know how to develop organisational systems and policies that will enable good employment practice and ensure quality customer service to passengers with reduced mobility.
Staff who work directly with passengers will need to understand the more practical aspects of disability - for example, how to guide a person with a vision impairment or how to use a particular piece of equipment. They will also need to know when and how it is appropriate to respond to issues that passengers with reduced mobility might experience. Designers (whether internal staff or external consultants) will need to understand the principles of inclusive design in whatever field they are working - this includes, for example, architects, vessel designers, information technology specialists and so on.
The range of issues that may need to be covered in training include the following:
Disability equality training should form part of an integrated training programme. However, it does not have to be delivered in the classroom - depending on the nature of the training and on-the-job demands of the staff being trained, it can be delivered in a range of ways, including on-the-job training, distance learning, e-learning, videos, briefings, workshops and project based learning. A briefing on the business benefits of accessibility may be the most effective way for senior managers to receive the information. Training in the use of equipment for frontline/customer-facing staff is better delivered in the working environment, perhaps as part of a wider programme of training. General disability equality training may also be successfully delivered via distance learning courses.
When it comes to who delivers the training, there are also choices that need to be made. In-house staff will have a better understanding of the nature of the operator's business, but they may lack the expertise and the experience to deliver truly effective training. Using people with disabilities as trainers can work well, as they can speak from direct personal experience; and this can help to accelerate the process of changing staff attitudes and behaviours.
In addition, there should be some consideration of the pace of the delivery of the training programme, so that staff can be trained within a reasonable period of time. The pace and resources of the training programme should reflect the size of the operator's organisation. For large operators, it is more appropriate to measure progress in this area by the percentage of staff trained rather than by absolute numbers.
There are a number of important things to bear in mind with disability equality training:
The most appropriate times to provide training to staff are:
If disability equality training to staff has not previously been provided, or there is uncertainty as to the quality of the training that has been provided, it will be necessary to establish a programme to ensure that all staff receive disability equality training over a specific period.