Accessibility statement for IET Career Manager

Measures to support accessibility

We want as many people as possible to be able to use our websites.

We also aim to make text as easy as possible to understand, although this is not always within our control (for example, descriptions of competences for various categories of professional registration are not authored by the IET).

We aim to ensure accessibility of our websites by:

• including accessibility in our internal policies
• integrating accessibility into our procurement practices
• continuously monitoring our sites for accessibility conformance

AbilityNet in the UK offers a range of free resources and advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Conformance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. The Career Manager site is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard.

Additional accessibility considerations

WAI-ARIA markup is used in most components.

Feedback

We’re always working to improve the accessibility of our sites. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please let us know:

• Phone: +44 (0)1438 313311
• Email: careermanager@theiet.org
• Post: The IET, Futures Place, Kings Way, Stevenage SG1 2UA

We aim to respond within 5 working days.

Compatibility with browsers and assistive technology

Our sites are designed to be compatible with the following technologies:

• Current and recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari browsers on Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS operating systems.

Technical specifications

Accessibility of IET websites relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

• HTML
• WAI-ARIA
• CSS
• JavaScript

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with our stated accessibility standards.

Limitations and alternatives

We are aware that there are some limitations to the accessibility of the Career Manager site, and we are working to address these. Below is a description of known current limitations, which we will update as work progresses.

Please contact us if you find an issue not listed below.

Known limitations

Skip to main content link is not provided on every page: this feature allows anyone using a keyboard to navigate the site to skip past the main navigation, rather than having to tab through each element on every page visited. This will be made available in all pages in future releases.

Keyboard focus indicator is missing (some pages): visible focus is not shown for some elements (e.g. some in-page navigation, such as sidebars and tabs). This is important for sighted users who cannot use a mouse.

Keyboard navigation and input does not work reliably: There are problems in multiple pages with the labelling of form fields and other elements. Examples include:

• Professional profile – Form labels do not always match controls, which may cause problems for screen-reader users in identifying specific form fields (e.g. for date fields, the input field should have an id matching the field label).
• Some buttons and tabs (e.g. activities and goals in CPD) are difficult to use with keyboard-only input (no visible focus on tabs).

Decorative images should have null alt text so that they are not announced by screen readers (e.g. in “Submit your CPD declaration”).

High density of text on some pages
These can be difficult to read for some users, including those with some neurodivergent conditions. There are particular issues with the presentation of the self-assessment tools in the Professional Registration & Fellowship section.

Inappropriate tabbed interface semantics (e.g. Homepage)
There are static elements that are marked up semantically as a tabbed interface, but they do not function as tabs, making their purpose unclear to screen reader users.

Links do not move the screen reader cursor
On some pages (for example, “Professional Profile”) there are interactive elements that scroll the page visually to a section of content or load a new section of content on the page. However, they do not move the cursor to the corresponding section. As a result, the elements do not immediately appear to have an effect when activated with a screen reader.

Informative icon is not exposed to assistive technology
Checkmark icons that indicate visually which sections of an application have been completed do not have alternative text.

Interactive table does not have appropriate semantics
The interactive table for self-assessment against CEng and other frameworks is not marked up semantically, and the interactive element for each cell does not have a role or accessible name. The functionality of the elements and the relationship between them is therefore not clear for screen reader users.

Errors are not described with text
There are input fields (e.g. dates) with error states that prevent form submission, but where the error is not described in text.

Assessment approach

The IET assesses the accessibility of this sites using the following approaches:

• Self-evaluation (manual audits, use of third-party tools, automated monitoring)
• We have also engaged an accessibility consultancy to carry out an evaluation with users of screen-reading software and other assistive technology. Following this, work has been carried out to address a number of the high priority issues identified; outstanding issues are listed above.

Alternative formats

We can provide some key information from this site in alternative formats on request. Please see contact details above.

Formal approval of this accessibility statement

This accessibility statement is approved by: Craig Bacon, Product Owner

This statement was originally created in October 2022 using the W3C Accessibility Statement Generator Tool, and was last updated in February 2025.