Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's website that offers an assortment of online training courses to federal employees has been praised by a disability rights group for its accessibility, logical design and ease of navigation for physically challenged individuals.

In its report, Criterion 508 Solutions, Inc., praised OPM's Golearn.gov website as "intuitive" and "logical," and for being easy to access and navigate. The site also was credited for being organized effectively for screen readers.

"Our professional staff greatly appreciates the recognition," said OPM Director Kay Coles James. "From the outset, OPM made inclusion a priority. Our team worked with physically challenged employees, as well as professional organizations and various stakeholder groups that represent men and women in the disabled community, to develop the GOLEARN.gov training site. By making e-Training accessible to all, including individuals who need assistive technologies, we improve the overall educational experience of the federal work force and the quality of service they provide to America's taxpayers."

The GOLEARN.gov website revealed a makeover on November 1, 2004.  Improvements included easier site navigation and more functionality. Popular tools, such as the Competency Center, continue to house the IT Workforce Development Road for current and future information technology practitioners to review and assess competencies and to identify appropriate training and development opportunities.

In 2001, President George W. Bush assigned to OPM five e-Government initiatives, including e-Training. This initiative, fostered through OPM's GOLEARN.gov web site (www.golearn.gov), offers more than 3,000 course titles to support the training and skills updating of federal employees in professional, administrative, technical and clerical disciplines.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.