According to government statistics, fewer than three in ten autistic people are in work.

Yet autistic students may bring highly-prized attributes such as tenacity, seeing things in a different light, heightened analysis and confidence in problem-solving. These characteristics may be additionally attractive to some highly-skilled industries like tech, particularly when combined with advanced abilities in coding and programming, or excellent memory, which many autistic people can display.

However, our autistic students frequently tell us that applying for jobs or starting new roles can be overwhelming, with lots of quick-fire questions, noisy open-plan offices and anxieties over following unwritten social rules.

And on the other hand, many employers want to attract autistic applicants but simply aren’t sure about how to make their environment more accessible. As providers, our insights and expertise can play a positive intermediary role.

Here are some of the suggestions we can and should be passing on to our employer partners:

Recruitment

Implement inclusive recruitment processes that accommodate different communication styles and support neurodiversity. Offer clear, straightforward application instructions and consider alternative methods of assessment.

Support

Provide tailored support systems including mentors or job coaches to help autistic apprentices and those with special educational needs more broadly to integrate into the workplace. This can enhance their learning experience and overall job satisfaction.

Flexibility

Create flexible work environments that can adapt to individual needs. This may involve adjusting work schedules, providing quiet spaces or allowing for remote work when necessary. Create a structured and predictable work environment. Autistic individuals often thrive in routines and predictability, so establishing clear patterns and expectations can contribute to their success.

Communication

Foster clear and open communication channels. Clearly outline expectations, tasks and goals, and be receptive to different communication styles such as written communication or visual aids.

Colleagues

Conduct training sessions for existing staff to raise awareness about neurodiversity, autism, and SEND. This can help create a more supportive and understanding workplace culture.

Sensitivities

Be mindful of sensory sensitivities. Create a workspace that takes into account potential sensory challenges, such as providing quiet areas, minimising fluorescent lighting or allowing the use of noise-cancelling headphones.

Customisation

Develop apprenticeship programmes that can be customised to suit individual learning styles. This may involve incorporating hands-on experiences, visual aids or other accommodations to enhance the learning process.

Adaptability

Establish a system for regular feedback and adjustments. Check in with apprentices to understand their progress, address concerns and make necessary accommodations to ensure a positive learning experience.

Collaboration

Collaborate with support organisations that specialise in working with individuals with SEND and autism. Seek guidance and resources to enhance your company’s ability to create an inclusive and supportive apprenticeship programme.

Lifelong learning

Work with local schools, colleges and other providers to create careers networks where business and education can support one another to nurture talent and develop a local supply of engaged staff.

Disability Confident

Employer partners may be interested to know that many of these approaches are included in the government’s Disability Confident Scheme, which offers a positive, practical framework to improve how they recruit and retain disabled staff. This can make for a stronger workforce and also allows customers and other businesses to identify those who are committed to workplace equality.

Access to Work funding

It is worth reminding employer partners that not all of these adaptations need to be paid for by them. Schemes like Access to Work support disabled people to start or stay in work and can be used to cover the cost of support or adaptations beyond reasonable adjustments. For example, adaptations to equipment, a support worker to help an autistic employee in the workplace or disability awareness training for colleagues with whom the autistic staff member will work.  

By sharing this advice we are giving employer partners practical suggestions for fostering an inclusive work environment while also creating a more diverse, skilled and profitable workforce that can support their overall business goals.

And of course all of that applies to us as employers too.

At Action for Race Equality, we have campaigned over the past twenty years for apprenticeship starts and achievements to reflect England’s ethnic diversity. We have worked closely with successive governments via task forces and advisory groups, but race disparities continue.

Tragically, the latest statistics show that Black, Asian, and mixed-ethnic people continue to be under-represented in apprenticeships for yet another consecutive year. Meanwhile, high-value sectors such as construction and engineering who are suffering from well-publicised skills shortages continue to be dominated by White males and remain impervious to the benefits of ethnic and gender diversity.

Amid stagnating growth in starts this year, new apprenticeship places continue to be lowest in geographical areas where ethnic minority populations are highest, such as Birmingham and London. Nationally, ethnic minority people account for only 14 per cent of apprentice starts, compared to a population rate of 18 per cent.

And while more politicians point to apprenticeships as key to meeting the country’s current and future skills needs, few make the case that making them accessible to everyone is vital to improving them.

Concerted action is necessary to remove the systemic ethnic bias in the labour market, and ending racial inequalities in apprenticeships must be part of that strategy. This National Apprenticeship Week and Race Equality Week, Action for Race Equality calls on the government to take swift action.

Make it a priority

First, ministers should introduce a ministerial apprenticeship race equity taskforce to drive up participation in key regions and sectors. This taskforce should learn from previous government and sector-based race equity initiatives such as Five Cities, and must have multiple partners including employers, Jobcentre Plus, local councils, FE/HE institutions and race equality practitioners.

Incentivise positive action

Second, employers should be incentivised to recruit and train people a more diverse range of social backgrounds through the apprenticeship levy. We recently called on chief executives to utilise positive action to support more young Black men in London, who are up to three times more likely to be unemployed than young white men aged 16 to 24. The government should adapt the levy to incentivise more employers to do the same, especially in high-value sectors and in regions with the lowest start rates.

Empower local partnerships

Third, partnership working is key to achieving success. We know this from experience. Our work with educators, employers and employability organisations through our flagship ‘Moving on Up’ programme, a ten-year positive employment initiative for young Black men, and our Youth Futures Foundation-funded ‘Building Ethnic Diversity in the Youth Employability Sector Programme’ proves that creating pathways into apprenticeships for under-represented groups is possible when there’s a will.

Local authorities have a particularly important role to play when it comes to ending the race disparities in apprenticeship starts; they are well placed to connect employers with local employability organisations working with Black, Asian, and mixed-heritage people.

Be transparent and accountable

We also know through our ‘Moving on Up’ programme that having a degree-level education doesn’t necessarily translate into better economic opportunities. Another key move to tackling racial disparities in apprenticeships is the publication of data on degree-level apprenticeships, with breakdowns in application, start and completion rates by gender, age and ethnicity.

Government should then require all employers with 50+ employees to monitor and publish information about apprenticeship applications and appointments by age, gender and ethnicity. This will allow for disparities in apprenticeship application success rates to be tracked.

Next year, the growth in apprenticeship starts must not remain stagnant. Key to vibrant growth will be positive action to drive supply in the least-served regions and for the least-represented groups.

There are clear actions that the government, local authorities, employers and providers can take to reduce this disparity, and we look forward to working with partners to achieve this.

To register for Action for Race Equality’s ‘Strengthening Education to Employment Pathways for Black, Asian & Mixed Heritage young people’ conference on 22 February, visit https://bit.ly/3SPLble