Does anyone know of any projects running or due to start that focus on training and sustainable employability for autistic individuals?
Their seems to be little real government policy regarding supporting and assisting the huge volume of unemployed ASD people into sustainable employment despite most of them wanting to be in employment.
Considering the strengths ASD individuals can offer to employers given the appropriate support and training, it seems to me that society is missing out on a massive valuable untapped resource.
I think the challenge is to convince employers (and society in general) that many unemployed ASD people who want to work also have a lot to offer.
Once employers realise that ASD employees can potentially make their business more profitable then positive progress will be made.
Before that happens though employers themselves need to be educated to understand how to utilise these skills and create an ASD compatible environment.
Even before that educators / facilitators must provide a framework that allows this to happen.
A Danish organisation, Specialisterne (see below) has developed such a framework and I am currently investigating whether alternatives exist in the UK.
Specialisterne (Specialists), framework model assists ASD people into sustainable, professional, rewarding work (mainly testing software and data entry). http://specialistpeople.com/
In recent years they have also developed a franchise style partnership model and as such have expanded into a number of countries the nearest being Scotland. http://www.specialisternescotland.org/
As of this date I believe that they are the only organisation focusing on ASD employability who are currently operating in the UK but if you know any different would love to hear.
