State Workforce Training Fund to Support Accessibility Training of All CAST Staff

Date:
Thursday, July 22, 2021

CAST is pleased to announce that we are the recipient of a Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development grant to train all of our staff members in best practices around creating accessible materials, customized to our needs. Ensuring fundamental access to learning for all is CAST’s primary work, and accessibility is a foundational component of Universal Design for Learning. 

While CAST currently employs a number of accessibility experts, this grant enables the organization to extend that expertise to every staff member to benefit colleagues both inside and outside of the organization. Staff will build skills in developing accessible media, including documents, slide shows, audio and video, and online products.

“This training will ensure that CAST’s workplace is fully accessible for employees with disabilities,” says Luis Perez, Technical Assistance Specialist for CAST and its National Center on Accessible Educational Materials. “It will also increase our capacity to deliver accessible products and services to our constituents, most of whom are required by law to ensure that the materials and technologies they use are accessible to individuals with disabilities.” 

Sam Catherine Johnston, Director of Postsecondary & Workforce Development at CAST, adds:  “We want to show that a full commitment to accessibility is not only the right thing to do but makes good business sense. Building this capacity across our whole staff will help us do a better job of modeling best practices and coaching our partners and clients in accessibility.”

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development manages the Commonwealth’s workforce development and labor departments to ensure that workers, employers, and the unemployed have the tools and training needed to succeed in the Massachusetts economy.