Learn & Earn

The Learn & Earn Initiative is designed to provide individuals that face ‘barriers to access’ on a daily basis with the knowledge and practical skills to help gain meaningful employment.

Participants engage in real-world challenges, complete structured training modules, and work alongside industry specialists across a variety of fields. This programme is ideal for those passionate about making a tangible impact on accessibility and inclusion.

 

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Become a Lived Experience Consultant

Businesses across the UK are increasingly seeking specialist advice to improve their accessibility standards, and you can be the voice that provides it. As a Lived Experience Consultant, you will educate organisations, deliver assessments, and identify the changes required to foster true inclusion.

The role is particularly vital in the planning and design of temporary (construction sites and roadworks) and built environments (residential dwellings, workspaces, restaurants and shops etc) – where accessibility barriers are often unintentionally created.

Why Inclusion Matters

  • The Purple Pound: The spending power of disabled people and their families is worth an estimated £278 billion to the UK economy.
  • Breaking Barriers: Despite progress in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), significant barriers remain in physical and digital spaces.
  • Well-being and Economy: Inaccessible buildings, transport, and websites directly impact the mental and physical well-being of disabled people while limiting economic potential.

What You Will Learn

Our programme provides the foundations for a career as a Lived Experience Consultant and serves as a stepping stone toward becoming a professional Accessibility Consultant.

The programme consists of six weeks of remote training:

  • Week 1: Disability awareness, barriers within temporary and built environments and career pathways.
  • Week 2: Understanding basic construction practices and processes.
  • Week 3: Mastering professional disability-specific language and navigating relevant legislation and regulations.
  • Week 4: Assessing environments on accessibility and supplying valued feedback though spoken and/or written responses  (including concise and impactful report writing).
  • Week 5: Undertaking risk assessments and working safely.
  • Week 6: Course work and requirements to complete the programme.

Upon successful completion, you will receive a Regain Certificate of Competency and be added to our register of Lived Experience Consultants.

Course Trainer Michael Barratt MBE

The programme is led by Michael Barratt, Head of Development and Innovation at Regain. Michael is a Chartered Engineer with a Master’s degree in Transport Planning and brings over 30 years of experience in construction, security, and logistics.

Since 2004, Michael has been a champion for accessibility and considerate working. His extensive work in EDI, design excellence, and mentoring – particularly for neurodivergent young people – was recognised with an MBE for services to transport in 2017.

How To Get Involved

The Learn & Earn Initiative is more than just a training course – it is a pathway to empowerment and professional success. You can register your interest for the next round of training to ensure you are the first to hear when applications for the next course open.

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