A social enterprise which employs IT consultants on the autism spectrum has launched a base in Edinburgh, its first in the UK outside London, as part of a strategy to create more jobs for autistic adults in Scotland.
Partnering with Royal Bank of Scotland, auticon UK’s first step will be to offer full-time permanent employment to three autistic consultants who will work on IT projects at RBS’s headquarters in Edinburgh.
The social enterprise, which raised investment from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation in 2016, plans to expand its presence in Scotland – working with major local firms and SMEs on a project basis, so it can offer long-term, quality and sustainable employment for as many autistic people with a background in tech as possible.
Our goal is to offer sustainable, long-term employment to as many autistic individuals in Scotland as possible.
Ray Coyle, auticon UK’s chief executive, said: “Unemployment among autistic adults is a major issue in Scotland, so we are thrilled to be working with Royal Bank of Scotland to launch a new base for auticon in Edinburgh. Our goal is to offer sustainable, long-term employment to as many autistic individuals in Scotland as possible, and we are inviting any candidates with a background in tech to get in touch.
“auticon consultants offer market-leading services in tech and IT, and are incredibly popular with blue chips. Our partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland has paved the way to our launch in Edinburgh – and we are keen to grow our presence and work with major firms and SMEs across the country.”
David Wheldon, of RBS, said: “[The] Royal Bank is committed to, and passionate about, building an inclusive bank for both our customers and our colleagues. We are here to serve customers well and this drives our commitment to a diverse and inclusive culture as we strive to make this a great place to work and a great place to bank. We are proud to be working with auticon to help bring new employment opportunities to autistic adults in Scotland.”
In the UK, only 16% of autistic adults are in full time employment, despite 77% of people with autism on out of work benefits wanting to work – auticon employs more than 150 IT consultants on the autism spectrum in the UK, US, Germany, Italy and France, and is the first social enterprise to scale this model across Europe and worldwide.
In the UK, auticon consultants work on IT projects for clients including Linklaters, KPMG, Experian and GlaxoSmithKline.Autistic candidates can find out more at auticon.co.uk/jobs or email Scotland.careers@auticon.co.uk.
