The government says thousands more disabled people are set to benefit from a new package of support designed to help them into the work they want.
Chloe Smith, the Minister for Disabled People, announced that 15 Jobcentre Plus sites will be testing an autism framework, designed with the National Autistic Society (NAS), to transform the service available to jobseekers on the autism spectrum.
The framework pilot will aim to help people with autism find, retain and progress in fulfilling jobs.
The Minister said the announcement comes as 26,000 work coaches in jobcentres across the country are undergoing specialist accessibility training, delivered in partnership with Microsoft, in a further effort to help more disabled jobseekers secure employment.
The coaches will look at how they can support disabled jobseekers with tools including immersive readers, magnifiers and automated captions, which will not only improve their daily work but will also help with the completion of job applications and interviews.
The government quoted figures from the National Autistic Society saying one in 100 people are autistic and there are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK. It added that research shows not all autistic people will be able to work, but the vast majority want to.
The government said working age autistic people are often locked out of employment due to a lack of understanding and knowledge from employers and colleagues, as well as by anxiety-inducing environments that can be distressing.
The Minister said: “Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to find a job they love and to progress in their career, but we know we must do more to help people with autism.
“By testing this autism framework and offering new specialist training to our jobcentre staff we are helping to deliver more employment opportunities for those who would otherwise feel locked out, as we work towards seeing one million more disabled people in work by 2027.”
If successful, the framework could be rolled out to more jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales, benefitting thousands of people with autism.
Christine Flintoft-Smith, Head of Autism Accreditation at the National Autistic Society, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with the DWP to make sure autistic people get the support they need delivered in the way they need it, when they visit Jobcentres. We both want to work to close the autism employment gap and make sure autistic people are getting the help they need to get jobs.
“Our framework of best practice has been developed with input from autistic people, specifically for Jobcentres. We want all Jobcentre staff to understand autism, be able to think about their practice and make the necessary changes to the support and environment that autistic people need.
“We look forward to our continued work with the team at DWP to get jobcentres working better for autistic people, and to get more autistic people in the jobs that they want and deserve.”
