Job Training App Showcase - Accessibility

In preparation for the eBook chapter I am writing about job training apps in industrial apprenticeship training, I thought I would showcase two apps that are in use in industry today. They are Dozuki (Dozuki, 2022) and Mr. Narrative (Invaware, 2020). Check out the trailer videos below.

The goal of both apps is to replace paper-based equipment and process manuals with digital pictures and videos which are editable by authorized personnel in the company. Dozuki and Mr. Narrative also aim to move training to an asynchronous model that increases the transactional distance between the expert and the novice, but supplements the reduction of face-to-face mentorship with multimedia. Technological enhancements make it possible to filter information to a “need-to-know” level for new hires because manuals with drawings, schematics, and instructions may require foundational or advanced knowledge to understand.

The eBook chapter I am authoring is exploring the efficacy of job training apps for Canadian apprentices. These apps are designed to reduce time in training new employees on manufacturing equipment and processes which is currently a challenge that has been identified by various stakeholders in the Canadian apprenticeship system due to poor essential skills in Canadian skilled trades workers (Lopata et al., 2015; Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, 2007). However, for the purpose of this blog post, I would like to touch on another benefit that apps like Dozuki and Mr. Narrative have on workplace training, which is improving accessibility of content for employees with various physical impairments.

Comparing paper-based manuals and mobile apps on tablets, Dozuki and Mr. Narrative offer advantages for low-vision individuals such as bright screens, adaptable screens with zoom functions and variable font sizes (Crossland, 2020). The devices that power the training apps can also be equipped with new AI which, when used with a device’s camera, can convert text to voice (p. 85). This function is especially useful for retrieving information off small labels that come on tool and fastener packages. Paper-based instruction manuals obviously do not have the same functionality.

Apps on a digital device are also more physically accessible than paper-based manuals because instruction manuals can be large and cumbersome. Paper-based manuals have many physical drawbacks not directly related to accessibility, but also impact daily operations in industrial environments: they are not easily editable to update information; they need to be stored safely which requires resources and space; they are prone to damage. Apps, on the other hand, have been shown to allow greater access to information on a more manageable device in field studies, which novices are more likely to use compared to paper manuals (Thomas & Fellows, 2016).

I believe there are more benefits related to accessibility than I have identified here, but they will require more research. I hope to explore this topic more in future blogs, as job training apps become more popular in the trades.

Resources

Canadian Apprenticeship Forum [CAF]. (2007). The link between essential skills and success in apprenticeship training. Canadian Labour and Business Centre.

Crossland, M. (2020). 21st century low vision care: apps and accessibility (Low vision). Optometry Today, 60(9), 82–86.

Dozuki. (2022). Enterprise. https://www.dozuki.com/enterprise

Invaware. (2020). Mr. Narrative. https://www.invawarecorp.com/mrnarrative

Lopata, J., Maclachlan, C., Hondzel, C. D., Mountenay, D., Mayer, V., & Kaattari, T. (2015). Barriers to attracting apprentices and completing their apprenticeships. Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie: Canada.

Thomas, R. & Fellowes, M. D. E. (2017). Effectiveness of mobile apps in teaching field-based identification skills. Journal of Biological Education, 51(2), 136–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2016.1177573