Getting the most out of Our Skillsforce
We provide two services that you need an account to access. Just let us know what service you want to use and we'll get you to the right place.
Get in touchGet in touch
Call us on
SupportCheck out the top questions employers ask
Read FAQsNeed more support
Skills support request form
Quick find toolAccessibility
Our Skillsforce is designed to be used by as many people as possible.
You should be able to:
• Zoom in up to 300% without problems
• Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• Use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
• All videos hosted on the site have been transcribed and subtitles and are available within the video player by pressing the CC button
Site display
This site is designed to work with most browsers. To see our site at its best, we recommend you use the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox or Edge.
There’s support available to make your computer, mobile phone and tablet easier to use – this includes zooming, changing contrast and text and much more:
• For Apple products
• For Microsoft products
Screen readers
We do most of our testing using Chrome Vox, Voiceover JAWS and NVDA. These are the screen readers we recommend that you use.
BSL
We have BSL and subtitled videos that give more information about our services. You can also find out how to get in touch.
You can change the look of the subtitles to have a black bar behind with yellow writing if that's preferred.
How to request content in an accessible format
If you need information in a different format contact us and tell us:
• The web address (URL) of the content
• Your name and email address
• The format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF
This website is partially compliant and we are continually striving to achieve the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.
How we test our websites
Our websites are audited annually for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA, and these tests have been carried out internally.
We conduct extensive in-house testing when developing new tools and content including JAWS, NVDA, Chrome Vox.
We continually prioritise changes required to improve the accessibility of our websites.
What we're doing to improve accessibility
We aimed to fix issues to make Ourskillsforce level AA compliant by 1st February 2021.
A statement listing fixes was prepared on 15th July 2020.
It was updated on 14th September 2020 and in November 2021 on completion of the fixes.
The next review date will be May 2022.
Accessibility plan
• All new developments to adhere to the WCAG 2.1 AA compliance
• Existing accessibility issues to be fixed as part of developments occurring on specific parts of the website
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting the accessibility requirements, contact us.
Enforcement procedure
If you contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).
Technical information about this website's accessibility
SDS is committed to making our websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Contact us
We are continually striving to improve the experience of this website for all visitors, so please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions. We will always consider your comments and will endeavour to apply any required improvements.
We are particularly keen to hear from you if you are a visually impaired user, or are using screen-reading software, and are having difficulties locating the information you need. We are happy to provide other supporting material where possible.
Other advice and assistance
There is lots of support available to make your computer easier to use:
- My Web My Way offers comprehensive advice and tools to make the web more accessible.