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IOE academics have been working with organisations on a programme that hires autistic graduates and raises awareness of steps to improve inclusivity in the workplace.
There is a well-established employment gap in autism, where autistic people are often willing and able to work but struggle to find and maintain employment. It is estimated that under 22% of autistic adults are in paid employment in the UK.
Our researchers recently worked on a scheme to open up opportunities for autistic adults and celebrate the differences and benefits a neurodiverse workforce brings to organisations.
Working together to improve outcomes for autistic people
The project brought together Professors Anna Remington and Liz Pellicano, present and former Directors of IOE’s Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), autism research charity Autistica, and Deutsche Bank to develop and evaluate an internship scheme for autistic graduates at Deutsche Bank.
The scheme, which was the first of its type in the UK, provided employment opportunities to autistic graduates and an opportunity to challenge perceptions about autistic people in the workplace. The CRAE team also researched the programme and provided recommendations to create more autism-friendly workplace environments.
The majority of the interns reported a positive, meaningful experience at the bank with five of the eight interns that started the scheme having their placement extended. The report also highlighted a number of challenges identified by the participants, with some experiencing anxiety and having difficulties in judging communication and rules in the office.
The CRAE team worked closely with the participants throughout the programme, interviewing the interns and hiring managers before the internship began, and again at the completion of the scheme three months later. They also spoke to the interns' colleagues and mentors who worked alongside them at the company.
The report they produced formed part of an employment toolkit which Autistica have made available to other companies. The report’s recommendations were implemented and the scheme extended to Deutsche Bank’s New York office. Since the programme, other organisations have expressed interest in developing and evaluating similar initiatives, and the toolkit has been downloaded more than 3,000 times.
Professor Remington said: “Though autistic people can face many challenges around employment, I hope that our work will help promote awareness of the many strengths that are also associated with being autistic, and the meaningful contributions that autistic people can and do make in the workplace.”
