Make apprenticeships accessible to dyslexic people
Mark McCusker, BATA Chair and CEO of Texthelp calls for assistive technology to be allowed to be used in written apprentices assessments.
Mark McCusker, Chair of the British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) and CEO of Texthelp is calling on the government to make apprenticeships accessible to dyslexic people ahead of National Apprenticeship Week 2014 on the 3rd March.
Mr McCusker said, “Currently people with dyslexia applying for apprenticeships are faced with a written exam at the end of their apprenticeship and unlike the university sector they are not allowed to take advantage of assistive technology which can support them with their reading and writing difficulties.
“Many people with dyslexia suffer from common difficulties that can act as a barrier in assessment situations such as having difficulties with spelling, grammar and numbers as well as mixing up homophones like ‘their’, ‘there’ and ‘they’re’.”
Assistive technology can make a big difference to the confidence and independence of the 10 per cent of people with dyslexia in the UK, as well as those with English as a second language.
In 2010-11, 18,940 learners on an apprenticeship programme said they were dyslexic and had a success rate of 72.6% compared to 76.4% overall.
To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2014 on the 3rd March 2014 Texthelp is giving 3 lucky winners a copy of its award-winning Read&Write Gold text-to-speech literacy support software RRP £320. Simply log onto www.texthelp.com/uk/Apprentice and register for your chance to win your very own copy!
Organisations such as Transport for London, the Fire Brigades Union and several county councils are using the software to help apprentices and staff with dyslexia and literacy difficulties improve their performance and to promote equality and inclusion.
The software is an easy to use toolbar which floats above mainstream applications like Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader and Google Docs. The smart toolbar can be customised to provide a host of clever reading, writing and research support tools. Try the software for yourself – click here to download a FREE trial.
For more information about Texthelp visit www.texthelp.com
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