WCAG 2.2 AA Accessibility Target

What does “WCAG 2.2 AA target” mean?

WCAG 2.2 is an internationally recognised set of recommendations developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for making web content more accessible. Level AA includes all applicable Level A and Level AA success criteria. By identifying Level AA as a target, NOVARIC^® establishes the standard toward which its digital services are designed, tested and progressively improved.

The word “target” is intentional. It expresses an adopted objective and direction of work. It is not, by itself, a declaration that every NOVARIC^® page, document, platform or third-party service has already achieved complete WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance. NOVARIC^® will publish a formal conformance statement only after an appropriately scoped accessibility audit has been completed and documented.

Why accessibility matters to NOVARIC^®

NOVARIC^® provides recruitment and candidate services, employer services, vocational education and learning, workforce-mobility and relocation information, governance documents, complaints and reporting routes, corporate communication and specialist digital platforms. Inaccessible information can prevent candidates, learners, employers, partners and members of the public from completing important tasks or understanding their rights and responsibilities.

Accessibility is treated as a governance responsibility, an administrative-quality principle, a component of service reliability, an aspect of dignity, inclusion and equal access, a continuing operational process, a shared responsibility across content, design, technology and administration, and a feature of responsible digital transformation. This expresses the organisation’s commitments to equal opportunity, diversity, equity and inclusion, human dignity, responsible administration, service quality, transparency and sustainable institutional development.

The three WCAG conformance levels

The four WCAG principles

WCAG organises its success criteria under four principles, often abbreviated as POUR:

• Perceivable — information must be available in forms users can perceive. For NOVARIC^®, this includes text alternatives for meaningful images such as the corporate hexagonal logo, and captions or transcripts for multimedia such as the corporate film.
• Operable — interface functions must be usable through different methods, including a keyboard. For NOVARIC^®, this covers keyboard access to navigation, footer accordions, the cookie-consent banner and forms.
• Understandable — content and interactions must be clear, consistent and predictable. For NOVARIC^®, this includes plain-language governance documents and consistent navigation across the website and Knowledge Hub.
• Robust — content must work reliably with current and future technologies, including assistive technologies. For NOVARIC^®, this means semantic HTML and status messages that assistive technologies can announce.

What Level AA means in practice

Designing and testing with Level AA as the target covers practical areas including: text alternatives for meaningful images; captions and alternatives for multimedia; semantic page structure; logical headings and labels; keyboard access; visible keyboard focus; focus not being obscured; sufficient colour contrast; information not conveyed by colour alone; text enlargement and reflow; responsive layouts without avoidable horizontal scrolling; accessible forms; error identification and correction support; clear link purposes; consistent navigation; status messages available to assistive technologies; touch and pointer interaction considerations; alternatives to dragging interactions; consistent help mechanisms; and accessible authentication where applicable.

This is an editorial summary, not the complete normative text of WCAG. The full requirements are published by W3C in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (external, W3C).

Target versus formal conformance

Formal WCAG conformance applies to complete web pages and complete processes within the declared scope. Passing an automated scan does not prove complete conformance. A page cannot be declared conforming by excluding an inaccessible component. Responsive variations are part of the page. A complete process, such as submitting an application, must be assessed from beginning to end. Third-party components must be considered where they affect the user’s ability to access the service.

Administrative responsibility model

The following functional responsibilities describe how accessibility work is organised under NOVARIC^® governance. Formal role assignments are confirmed through the document-approval workflow.

Accessibility through the content lifecycle

Accessibility is considered during planning, not added only after publication. The administrative process is:

1. Plan — identify audiences, tasks, risks and accessibility requirements.
2. Design — apply accessible colour, typography, hierarchy, focus, interaction and responsive behaviour.
3. Build — use semantic code and accessibility-supported technologies.
4. Review — conduct content, technical, keyboard and assistive-technology checks.
5. Approve — record evidence, exceptions and responsible approval.
6. Publish — release only approved and version-controlled content.
7. Monitor — review feedback, updates and technical regressions.
8. Correct — prioritise barriers according to severity, impact and operational risk.

Testing approach

NOVARIC^® combines automated testing — HTML validation, accessibility rules engines, colour-contrast checks, link validation, metadata checks and regression tests — with manual testing: keyboard-only navigation, focus order and visibility, screen-reader review, zoom and text resizing, reflow at narrow widths, form completion and errors, captions and media controls, reduced-motion behaviour, mobile and touch use, document accessibility and complete user journeys.

Automated tools can identify many accessibility problems, but they cannot determine complete WCAG conformance without informed manual evaluation. A zero-violation automated result is evidence of work toward the target, not proof of conformance.

Third-party services and documents

The accessibility target covers, within NOVARIC^®’s reasonable control: the main corporate website, the Knowledge Hub, the Jobs Hub, the Academy platform, the Real Estate platform, forms, application processes, downloadable documents and PDFs, videos, consent interfaces, chat or support tools, embedded maps, and external recruitment or payment services. A distinction is maintained between services directly controlled by NOVARIC^®, third-party services configured by NOVARIC^®, and external destinations outside NOVARIC^® control. Third-party ownership is not a reason to ignore barriers: reasonable assessment, procurement controls, alternatives and transparent disclosure are required.

Known limitations and continuous improvement

Digital content changes; new features can introduce regressions; historical documents may require remediation; third-party services can impose limitations; some specialist content may require alternative formats; and user feedback may reveal barriers not identified during testing.

Currently recorded limitation: the corporate film used on the homepage background does not yet have an approved caption file or transcript. The video is muted and decorative; a caption or transcript review is required before production publication. No other limitations have been formally recorded. Verified limitations will be listed here with the affected service, description of the barrier, user impact, available alternative, responsible owner, remediation status and target review date.

Requesting an accessible alternative

If you need an alternative document format, help completing a form, a transcript or captioned version, information explained through another channel, or assistance using a NOVARIC^® service, contact the corporate accessibility contact route. You will be asked only for the information necessary to identify the requested content and your preferred accessible format. You are never required to disclose a diagnosis, medical history or other unnecessary health information.

Reporting an accessibility barrier

Use the accessibility contact route to report a barrier. Helpful information includes the page or document URL, a brief description of the issue and, optionally, your device or browser, assistive technology, preferred contact method and any requested alternative format. Reports follow the administrative process: receipt, acknowledgement, assessment, assignment, response, correction or recorded decision, closure and governance reporting. Response-time commitments will be published once formally approved and operationally supported.

Complaints and escalation

Different matters follow different administrative routes:

• Accessibility feedback or requests for assistance — accessibility contact route;
• Formal complaints — Complaints Procedure;
• Data-protection requests — GDPR & Privacy;
• Fraud or misconduct reports — Fraud Awareness and misconduct reporting via the Complaints Procedure;
• IT security vulnerabilities — Report an IT Vulnerability.

Submitting accessibility feedback does not restrict your right to use an applicable formal complaints process. This page provides administrative information, not personalised legal advice.

Measurement and governance oversight

Proposed internal indicators — to be confirmed through governance approval — include pages reviewed, templates tested, critical barriers identified and corrected, documents remediated, videos with captions, forms tested by keyboard, accessibility reports received, resolution status, supplier accessibility assessments and staff training completed. No percentages or performance claims are published without verified evidence.

Accessibility and responsible AI

AI-assisted services must not weaken accessibility. Where NOVARIC^® uses AI-supported interfaces or content, human oversight should remain available, instructions must be understandable, generated content should be reviewed, important decisions must not depend on an inaccessible interface, users should have an alternative route where reasonably required, AI notices and status messages must be accessible, and accessibility feedback involving AI services must be recorded and assessed — consistent with the NOVARIC^® Responsible AI governance page. AI does not automatically produce accessible content.

Related NOVARIC^® documents

• Accessibility Statement — the formal statement; this explanatory page does not replace it
• Governance Hub · Document Index · Document Governance · Brand Guidelines
• GDPR & Privacy · Cookie Policy · Complaints Procedure · AI Governance · Fraud Awareness
• Contact · Locations & Legal Entities

Authoritative external references

• W3C — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (external), W3C Recommendation, accessed 13 August 2026
• W3C — WCAG 2.2 conformance requirements (external), accessed 13 August 2026
• W3C WAI — WCAG overview (external), accessed 13 August 2026
• W3C WAI — Understanding WCAG 2.2 (external), accessed 13 August 2026
• European Union — Directive (EU) 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act) (external, EUR-Lex), accessed 13 August 2026. Applicability to specific NOVARIC^® entities, services and dates is subject to legal verification.
• ETSI/CEN/CENELEC — EN 301 549, accessibility requirements for ICT products and services (external, ETSI), accessed 13 August 2026. Applicability is subject to legal verification.

Albanian accessibility, equality, public-information and electronic-service requirements will be cited here once verified against the applicable instruments and the NOVARIC^® Sh.A. entity.