Case study

Closing the autism employment gap

At a glance

In 2021, AMS partnered with UK's National Autistic Society’s Autism at Work programme to help close the autism employment gap by ring-fencing two roles in its Global Client Service Centre in Belfast for autistic candidates. Since joining the programme, AMS has hired two autistic employees on permanent contracts.

The challenge

Running our first AMS Neurodiversity hiring pilot in our Belfast GCSC.

DEI is central to the values and culture at AMS and being able to hire neurodiverse candidates with expert guidance and training offered by UK's National Autistic Society enabled AMS to implement its first Neurodiversity hiring pilot.

The National Autistic Society’s Employment Engagement Manager and Job Coach were instrumental in guiding AMS through the end-to-end process, from JD design and selection format to onboarding.

The solution

AMS identified two roles in Business Intelligence and Insights functions where Hiring Managers and their teams would take on candidates and train them. In partnership with the Autism at Work programme, run by the National Autistic Society, AMS was able to offer coaching, job adverts review/design, posting of roles and advising on interview/selection processes and format, including adjustments.

Most importantly, the National Autistic Society’s Job Coach and Employment Engagement Manager provided extensive detailed training on autism to both Hiring Managers and team members, as well as assisting candidates throughout the process, including post-onboarding.

The impact

Both candidates have become valuable team members and permanent AMS employees since joining in the autumn of 2021. The awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace and autism in particular has increased in the Belfast office and within AMS since the hiring pilot went live.

There has been a noticeable increase in AMS employees joining the recent World Autism Day awareness sessions. In addition, membership of the AMS Neurodiversity ERG has seen significant global expansion.

AMS plans to continue hiring autistic and neurodivergent talent through more inclusive hiring processes and practices. The Autism at Work programme has provided practical insights and tips on how small adjustments and creating an inclusive culture can make a significant difference allowing neurodiverse talent to thrive.

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