About Auticon
Auticon is an award-winning IT B2B consulting business and social enterprise. All 53 Auticon consultants are on the autism spectrum and employed at Auticon on a permanent basis. Auticon has now launched in London and is looking to hire – anyone with an autism spectrum diagnosis and an interest in computer sciences can apply.
When Kurt Schöffer joined Auticon as CEO in 2013, he had one clear goal in mind: “We wanted to create a bridge between the talents of autistic adults and the ongoing IT skills shortage that poses a tremendous challenge to the industry”, Schöffer remembers. “We are over the moon that so many high profile clients have recognised the potential that Auticon consultants bring to their project teams. Our success in Germany now allows us to replicate the business model in London – Europe’s economic capital.”
Pattern recognition, logic, precision, sustained concentration, and an ability to intuitively spot errors are some of the exceptional qualities that Auticon consultants add to clients’ IT projects. These skills are of particular value in areas such as quality management, security, compliance and business intelligence – Auticon’s service portfolio.
“Recent research by the LSE found that autism costs the UK £32bn each year, mainly due to soaring unemployment rates. Only employment can help tackle this problem. We thus produce a win-win-win situation for clients, autistic jobseekers and society”, Schöffer explains. Being a social business rather than a charity, Auticon is able to offer sustainable employment, salaries based on industry standards and extensive professional development (including internationally recognised ISTQB certifications).
Auticon was founded in 2011 by Dirk Müller-Remus, who has a son diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. The business concept is convincingly simple. Autistic adults often have extraordinary cognitive abilities; yet many find it difficult to secure or maintain mainstream employment. Auticon taps into the significant but largely unrecognised potential of what the company refers to as ‘specific autistic intelligence’.
The Auticon recruitment process begins with an informal interview and continues with a technical skills assessment and a range of workshops preparing for future client projects. After a candidate has successfully completed the application process, the Auticon project managers match their individual skills profile and workplace requirements with a client project. Once a suitable project has been identified, applicants are offered an employment contract as Auticon IT consultant and start working in their first project.
Having both autistic and non-autistic professionals in mixed project teams opens up new perspectives and often significantly improves work output. Auticon doesn’t employ autistic adults despite their challenges, but because of their strengths. Rather than trying to ‘cure the autism’, Auticon aims to create environments and opportunities that help people on the spectrum to thrive and utilise their genuine abilities. The employment in turn often has numerous additional benefits in terms of personal development and quality of life. Founder Dirk Müller-Remus is “confident that the particular strengths and talents of our employees have a huge potential within the mainstream labour market. We know that our consultants have the skills to enable them to lead financially independent lives. Our consultants have exceptional analytical abilities and are able to spot errors very quickly. Challenges lie in the area of social communication, which is why we employ specifically trained job coaches.”
Auticon Job Coaches
All Auticon consultants are offered the support of in-house job coaches, who ensure that each consultant’s work environment allows them to live up to their full professional potential. Of course this support is voluntary and always matched to the individual needs of the consultant. By providing an interface between external clients and consultants and offering advice to both parties, job coaches ensure that projects run smoothly. Auticon Job Coaches:
- prepare candidates for their future workplace and brief them in terms of the specific corporate culture
- brief future team-members in terms of autism and any specific characteristics their new autistic colleague might have
- offer initial support with travelling to and from work until the consultant feels comfortable to travel independently
- facilitate workplace adjustments wherever necessary and/or possible
- mediate feedback between the client and the consultant
- offer any other individual support that consultants require in order to be productive at work
Auticon is now hiring in Greater London!
Do you have an autism spectrum diagnosis and a passion for computer sciences?
We offer various positions in IT quality management.
Our offer:
- Exciting projects that facilitate your unique skills and expertise
- Continued professional development, starting with the opportunity to obtain an internationally recognised ISTQB certificate for software testers
- A work environment tailored towards your individual characteristics – empowering you to focus on your strengths and skills
- Job coaches supporting you whenever needed
Apply now
Please send your application (CV and a brief cover letter) to info@auticon.co.uk
Any questions?
Please contact info@auticon.co.uk for any questions or comments you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!
