The autism advantage, why businesses are hiring autistic people

Link: https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/the-autism-advantage-why-businesses-are-hiring-autistic-people-20220804-p5b767.html

Here are the takeaways from the article. All emphases mine.

But the unemployment rate of autistic people remains disturbingly high. ABS data from 2018 shows 34.1 per cent of autistic people are unemployed – three times higher than that of people with any type of disability and almost eight times that of those without a disability.

“A lot of the time people hear that someone’s autistic and they assume incompetence,” says Varney, who was this week appointed the chair of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council.

“But we have unique strengths, specifically hyper focus, great creativity, and we can think outside the box, which is a great asset in workplaces.”

In Israel, the defence force has a specialist intelligence unit made up exclusively of autistic soldiers, whose skills are deployed in analysing, interpreting and understanding satellite images and maps.

“Rather than focus on the deficits of the person, focus on the strengths. A quarter of National Disability Insurance Scheme plans name autism as the primary disability, so society has no choice – there’s going to be such a huge number of people who are young and looking for jobs who are autistic. There is a skills shortage as it is, so you need to look at neurodiverse talent.”

“These individuals want to come to work and get the work done – they are not going off for a coffee and chatting.”

“We need to see jobs for a diverse range of autistic people.”

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/the-autism-advantage-why-businesses-are-hiring-autistic-people-20220804-p5b767.html

 BWMDL:

My nephew with Asperger's syndrome always fails interviews.   His dad calls up the company and begs them to give him a chance.   They hire him, and he becomes their best employee and they promote him.  This has happened a few times, as the family has moved a few times to different parts of the country.   But it is consistent.   Once they know him, they love him.

Wow! Thank you for sharing!