A certified WAS specialist helps ensure digital accessibility and increase the quality of service

When I came to work at Trinidad Wiseman, I was still studying at university and was looking for a topic for my thesis. Our current Chief Innovation Officer, Hegle Sarapuu-Johanson, was already working on web accessibility at the time and introduced me to the topic.

I was immediately captured by it, as it offers an opportunity to help people through IT work by creating more equal opportunities for people with special needs. I also like rules and standards, and web accessibility has a clear and structured set of rules, especially through the WCAG accessibility standard, to work with.

In 2016, I wrote my thesis on digital accessibility. In 2018, I conducted my first accessibility training sessions and user tests with people with special needs.

During these ten years, WCAG requirements and digital accessibility standards have become second nature to me. I have learned to identify accessibility compliance issues as early as possible in digital development projects and to resolve them efficiently. Today, I lead a small team of accessibility specialists, which allows clients to access web accessibility audits, accessibility training, and accessibility consultations more quickly. 

The Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) certification is an international competence certification issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. It gives confidence that the person is a recognised professional in the field of digital accessibility, allows the specialist to demonstrate technical knowledge, and creates trust among clients who want to choose a qualified and certified accessibility partner.

The WAS certification is valid for three years, and to renew it, the entire process, including the exam, must be completed again. An exception is made for specialists who have participated in extensive volunteer work, trainings, and written articles or books on digital accessibility. This ensures that the specialist has up-to-date knowledge and practical experience, as the field of digital accessibility is constantly evolving and accessibility standards are regularly updated. For example, between my two exams, a new version of the international web accessibility standard WCAG was released.

For organisations whose services must comply with accessibility requirements by law – in the European Union this includes the public sector and areas such as transport, e-commerce, banking, and media in the private sector – it is certainly safer to work with a certified specialist. This way, you can be confident that the result is of high quality and that resources are not wasted, for example by addressing the wrong issues while overlooking truly significant problems. 

To obtain the Web Accessibility Specialist certification, you must pass a computer-based exam consisting of 75 multiple-choice questions within two hours. The exam can be taken both online and at Pearson VUE exam centres around the world, which are known for their strict security requirements. I took the exam for the first time in Estonia and recently renewed my certification in Istanbul.

However, to be admitted to the WAS exam, you must first complete an application form that proves at least three years of professional experience and competence in digital accessibility. The candidate must describe their knowledge and thoroughly explain how they meet all the required competencies. Based on my experience, getting approval to take the exam was even more difficult than passing it! 

The test can be taken both online and at an exam centre. When taking the test online, the camera must remain on with the room visible at all times. Drinking or chewing gum is not allowed, and no one else may enter the room. It can be easy to accidentally fail your exam if, for example, you look away from the camera or think out loud.

There are also strict rules at the exam centre. The certification exam is recorded both on video and audio, and there is a mirrored window in the room through which everything is monitored.

First, you must hand over all personal belongings, including jewellery. All clothing, pockets, arms, ears (to ensure there are no hidden devices), and glasses (to ensure they are not smart glasses) are checked. Two different IDs must be presented, and you must provide a signature, which will be compared with the one in the document. Your photo is taken and the veins in your palm are scanned.

A peculiarity of the small exam centre in Istanbul was that the security check had to be completed when arriving and then again before entering the exam room, just two metres further. The same procedure applied if you wanted to e.g. go to the toilet during the exam.

All this ensures that the exam can be taken only by the person applying for the certification. 

People with special needs benefit most from digital accessibility, but in reality web accessibility affects a much larger number of users than it may seem at first glance.

We often forget that special needs can also be temporary, for example as a result of a broken arm or eye surgery. In addition, many people use voice commands from time to time, for example while driving or cooking. And of course, as we age, our vision, hearing, and precision change, so we may rely on these same accessibility features.

An accessible service takes into account all types of special needs, including cognitive needs such as reading difficulties or attention deficit disorder, which may be less noticable. These users may find it difficult if something flashes or moves on the screen, if the text is complicated, and hard to read.

For a blind person who uses a screen reader which reads out everything happening on the screen, it is essential that the website is built correctly in line with accessibility requirements.

The same applies to people with mobility impairments. If a person navigates with a keyboard or other assistive tools instead of a mouse, it is also crucial that the website is developed in compliance with the standards.

Accessibility increases usability and customer satisfaction, and reduces business risks. In addition, accessibility significantly increases the discoverability of a page by search engines and artificial intelligence. Many aspects of accessibility, such as machine-readable structure, metadata, and text alternatives, are also necessary for SEO and GEO (AI). 

A person’s experience of using a website is subjective. To evaluate websites more objectively, accessibility standards have been established. A digital service must meet the standards to be considered accessible.

The international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standard was first published in 1999 and has been continuously updated. The current version was published in autumn 2023. The Web Accessibility Specialist certification tests knowledge of the WCAG accessibility standard.

In addition, the European Union has its own accessibility standard EN 301 549, which is not the same as WCAG, but covers most of its requirements. All public sector services have had to comply with this standard since 2019. Certain private sector services must comply with these requirements since 2025, when the products and services accessibility act came to force.

Ensuring digital accessibility compliance requires thorough knowledge of these standards, and if the organisation does not have the necessary competence in-house, it is worth involving an external certified accessibility partner to avoid compliance liability risks and costly improvements later. 

Although the European Union’s accessibility directives have entered into force, it cannot be said that digital accessibility is at a consistently high level. In Estonia, accessibility monitoring is carried out by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA). Annual monitoring of websites and mobile applications shows that the overall level of web accessibility is improving, but it is not yet consistently high.

Unfortunately, development teams largely lack the skills to assess and ensure accessibility. This knowledge is not sufficiently provided through formal education, and teams often do not know how to develop these skills on their own. In most cases, organisations need the support of a specialist. 

At Trinidad Wiseman, we offer professional web accessibility audits in which we assess whether a website or mobile application complies with European Union requirements. We prepare a detailed audit report describing all identified accessibility issues and providing recommendations for solutions, so the errors can be fixed.

We can also help create the mandatory accessibility statement that explains how the website or mobile application complies with the accessibility requirements.

In our accessibility audits, we always prioritise issues based on how many users are affected and how frequently the issue occurs on the website. I recommend starting with accessibility issues that are easy to fix and affect many users, and then moving on to more complex technical solutions.

Secondly, we provide digital accessibility training for developers, testers, designers, and entire teams, including project managers and content editors.

Thirdly, we offer ongoing accessibility consultations for development teams. We help find answers to questions that may arise e.g. when resolving accessibility issues identified in the audit.

Accessibility standards set the rules that digital channels must meet, but these rules can be fulfilled in many different ways. That is why it is useful to consult an expert to find solutions that are less complex from a development perspective. Involving a specialist helps to avoid later corrections and keep development costs under control.