Technology for Work Training Course

TAVIP is a member-led charity for visually impaired people who are passionate about improving access to technology at home and at work. TAVIP has a particular interest in supporting visually impaired people into paid or voluntary work and supports members to develop the skills and knowledge they need to use access features and assistive technology in the workplace. We also support people in higher education so that they are ready for the transition into work.

Course Overview

Our Technology for Work Training Course offers members up to 5 hours of free one-to-one training to help people gain the IT skills needed in the work place so that, with other pre-employment support, they are ready to make the step into volunteering, work experience or paid work.

The course starts with an initial assessment to identify the type of employment the you are seeking and your current IT skills. This will lead to a learning plan of what additional IT skills you are likely to find most helpful.

We can also suggest what software or hardware is likely to be most useful, we can use remote access software to help configure and install software on your laptop or PC, and we can provide information on trusted suppliers if you need to purchase additional hardware or software.

There will then be five one-hour training sessions to develop skills and confidence in the areas identified in the assessment, and normally these would take place a week apart. You may also be given some tasks to complete between sessions to embed the learning.

There will also be a final one-hour follow-up session after a few weeks to address any specific issues which you need help with. At the end of the programme we will make recommendations in terms of further self-learning and suggestions for equipment which might be helpful in the workplace.

Depending on your learning goals, the course could cover topics including an overview of assistive technology and access features built into Windows and Microsoft Office, use of screen readers such as JAWS or NVDA, using Microsoft Office applications, using Zoom and Microsoft Teams, web browsing, using Apple and Android phones and apps.

The course is normally delivered online using Zoom.

Eligibility

We are flexible, but to benefit from this particular course, you are likely to need the following:

1. To have had some pre-employment support or careers advice on areas such as CV preparation, interview skills and job searching.
2. Have access to a laptop or PC running Microsoft Windows 10 or 11.
3. Have good keyboard skills, particularly for training on a screenreader such as NVDA or JAWS, but we can also suggest some initial training exercises to help you improve keyboard skills before taking the course.
4. You need to be 18 years of age or older
5. You need to be a member of TAVIP. Membership of TAVIP is currently free, and you can join at www.tavip.org.uk/membership.

If you don’t meet these criteria but are keen to improve your tech skills, do get in touch and we will see if we can provide any advice or support.

Applying

To arrange an initial conversation about the course, please get in contact with the TAVIP team at info@tavip.org.uk