SINGAPORE: Disabled people are set to benefit from the expertise of some of the world’s tech giants to help make the workplace more accessible to them.

The Department for Work and Pensions hosted a meeting with big tech companies Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon, alongside leading UK disability charities to identify practical ways that cutting-edge technology can remove barriers preventing disabled people from finding and keeping jobs.

Technologies such as screen readers, real-time captioning, and AI-powered visual description tools are already helping disabled employees perform tasks.

It marked the first step in a larger conversation the government wants to see take place around assistive technology breaking down barriers to work and complements wider action to help disabled people into work.

This includes the Connect to Work programme which will help 300,000 sick or disabled people into work by the end of this Parliament, and the government’s engagement with employers following Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review.