It is important that staff understand the needs of passengers with disabilities and are able to respond to them appropriately. One of the most effective ways of ensuring that staff learn about people with disabilities and their needs, and how to improve the industry's employment record on disability, is to implement a programme of disability awareness training. Many operators have implemented training programmes and already have in-house guidelines for Disability Awareness Training.
All staff need training in disability issues including, but not limited to, drivers, mechanics, board members, cleaning staff, managers, designers and frontline/customer-facing staff. Everybody in the operator's organisation should understand the needs of passengers with disabilities as they relate to their own jobs in order that individual members of staff can provide good quality, appropriate and respectful service to passengers with disabilities. Staff who have been trained on disability issues will also be better prepared to work alongside people with disabilities within an organisation.
The range of issues that needs to be covered in training can be considered as follows:
The NDA is currently preparing Guidelines on Equality/Disability Training. When finalised, these Guidelines will assist trainers and purchasers by providing information on the content, delivery and follow up required to facilitate effective organisational development. These Guidelines will fit into the broader equality agenda and assist with diversity management.
Not all staff need the same training. It is necessary to provide the right sort of training to staff consistent with their functions within the organisation. Senior managers will need to know more about the law, the business case, and how to develop organisational systems and policies that will enable good employment practice and ensure quality customer service to passengers with disabilities.
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 it is appropriate to respond with flexibility to issues that passengers with disabilities may experience. Designers will need to understand the principles of inclusive design in whatever field they are working, for example, architecture, vehicle design, information technology and so on.
The following table provides an overview of the minimum requirements for different staff roles and levels. This table should be used as a guide only.
Staff Training Requirements
|
Staff role/level |
The business case |
The law |
Challenging stereotypes |
Relating to people with disabilities |
Working with people with disabilities |
Removing barriers - practices etc |
Removing barriers - physical |
Removing barriers -- information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior management | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Human Resources | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Non-customer-facing operational staff | Y | Y | Y | |||||
| Customer-facing operational staff | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Designers/architects/engineers | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Property managers/Maintenance staff | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Marketing/customer service | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Occupational health | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| IT | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Disability awareness training should form part of an integrated training programme. 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, on-the-job training, distance learning, briefings, workshops, or project based learning can all be used to good effect. Senior managers may find a briefing on the business case for accessibility, for instance, the most acceptable way 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 awareness training has also been successfully delivered via distance learning courses.
When it comes to who delivers the training, there are similar choices to be made to the choices that need to be made for other training courses. Using in-house staff ensures that trainers understand the operator's specific business issues and the nature of the business. However, in-house staff may lack the expertise and the experience to deliver truly effective training. Using people with disabilities as trainers to deliver training face-to-face provides a role model for the staff who are receiving training, and helps to accelerate changing 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 as a percentage of staff trained rather than absolute numbers of staff trained.
There are a number of important things to bear in mind with disability awareness training:
The most appropriate times to provide training to staff are:
If disability awareness 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 that ensures all staff receive disability awareness training over a specific period.