2: Building Employer Capacity: Considerations for Successfully Employing and Supporting Employment of Autistic People

Autistic people have a more challenging time getting and maintaining employment than non-autistic people. The barriers impacting successfully gaining and maintaining employment for autistic people are yet to be fully understood. Autistic people aged 15 years and older make up approximately 1% of the Canadian population (Government of Canada, 2020). Despite the number of autistic individuals of working age, only 33% of autistic individuals surveyed are in the workforce compared to 79% of those who do not have or did not disclose a disability (Government of Canada, 2020). The numbers reported by Autism Speaks Canada are far more bleak with only 14.3% of autistic adults being employed. While some employers have moved toward specifically seeking autistic employees, most companies continue to adhere to recruitment processes which disadvantage autistic people. For example, few employers act beyond identification of the neurodivergence. To increase the number of autistic individuals who have ever worked full-time for a year or more, it is essential to support autistic employees through the “neuro-conventional” processes and expectations commonly required to secure and retain neurotypical employees. In this chapter, we discuss the recruitment process and supportive actions taken to successfully employ two autistic young people in their first paid jobs. Covering considerations in the design of communications and plans to enable a vetting process and, importantly, creating an employment environment that was conducive to success. This chapter highlights the importance of joint efforts by government, work organizations, researchers, and autistic individuals themselves to support them at work.