Wired UK - 11.2019

TAPPING INTO TALENT:

AUTISM

ADVOCACY

The employment outlook for autistic people

can be bleak – but Auticon, a social

enterprise, has found a way to harness the

unique attributes of these workers

main challenges, according to Auticon’s

UK CEO, Ray Coyle, is to convince autistic

individuals to apply for a job.

“The workplace hasn’t been kind

to autistic people, and some feel like

employers have given up on them,” Coyle

says. “Most companies include a job

description that is a hypothetical history

of the type of individual that they want.

It’s very prescriptive and autistic people

will often think it doesn’t describe them.

We make sure that our job descriptions

are deliberately vague.”

Auticon’s London office, which opened

in 2016, now has 36 employees. Regarding

the hiring of IT consultants, Coyle says the

company keeps the process very flexible to

make sure that every skill is measurable,

without being constrained by standardised

testing processes.

The candidates are assessed on their

cognitive skills using a test designed

with researchers from the University

of Berlin. Applicants with relevant

technology experience (whether coding

or programming) are then tested on their

tech capabilities through the London-

based software company Geektastic, which

assesses skills including logical analysis, pattern

recognition, attention to detail, error detection

and sustained concentration.

Job interviews aren’t part of Auticon’s hiring

process. Interviews, says Coyle, test the candi-

date’s social abilities – eye contact, body language,

charm. But many on the autism spectrum can find

it challenging to manage the unwritten rules of the

workplace and would rather focus on their task.

When Auticon opened its London office three

years ago, the Virgin Group was one of the first to

back the social enterprise financially. The group’s

founder, Richard Branson, has dyslexia which, like

autism, is a form of neurodiversity.

While Auticon focuses on tech jobs for

high-functioning autistic individuals, there are

other entities in the UK that also cater to the needs

of people on the autism spectrum. AS Mentoring

provides mentoring, recruiting and employment

support, and Harry Specters offers young people

with autism free training and employment at its

chocolate shop. Bérénice Magistretti

ENGAGING AUTISM

Left: Lars Backstrom,

a consultant at Auticon

UK, with his coach (in

reflection) Adam Goldman

11-19-WSAuticonOtter.indd 57 03/09/2019 12:51