Communication Access UK is an initiative led by the Royal College of Speech and Language therapists in partnership with charities. The accreditation aims to help people living with a communication disability.
Proudly becoming Communication Accessible
We're raising awareness, providing training, and using the new Communication Access symbol. We hope to increase confidence and independence in those living with communication difficulties.
Over 1,500 of our colleagues have completed the training and we will continue to put this at the heart of our culture. It aims to give colleagues increased confidence in supporting those who may need it. We are now displaying the symbol so customers can see that colleagues have had this training. According to Communication Access UK, up to 1 in 5 of us experience a communication difficulty at some point so we know this will help our customers.
We're early adopters
Skipton took part in the “early adopter” phase of the Communication Access UK initiative. We were the only financial services organisation to do so.
Communication Access UK have worked with people with communication difficulties to design a new symbol. The symbol can be displayed by businesses and organisations whose colleagues have taken the Communication Access UK training. The training helps colleagues identify if someone needs support and encourages them to ask how we can help.
Colleagues in our Leeds and Keighley branches took specific training to help them support people with communication difficulties. After great feedback we have pledged to become Communication Accessible and roll out more training. Now over 1,500 of our colleagues have completed it, including all our customer facing staff.
You can find out more about Communication Access UK on their website.
This initiative sits perfectly with our work to support those who may be in a vulnerable situation or need some extra help. The training from Communication Access UK helped us re-focus on how we communicate with all our customers, not just those with additional requirements. This is a win-win for organisations, customers and colleagues.