We’ve teamed up with Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), as part of our Autism at Work programme, run in association with the Bloomfield Trust. Here, DE&S HR Operations, Recruitment Marketing Specialist, Ceri, chats to us about the process so far, and how small changes to the recruitment process, and in the workplace, can make all the difference for autistic people.

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Tell us about your partnership. How did it begin?

Our pilot neurodiversity recruitment scheme launched in mid-June 2021 and our vacancy went live via the National Autistic Society website, with all applications going through the National Autistic Society and its networks.

We tailored our job advert to ensure it was autism-friendly, created information packs, and a video tour to give candidates an accurate representation of what it is like to work on site. We also amended our interview process to include a practical assessment that was tailored to the vacancy, which candidates could complete prior to the interview.

Once the campaign closed, the National Autistic Society conducted the CV sift and passed us the CVs of the candidates who met the essential criteria requirements, who have now been invited to interview and we are excited to see the results. The successful candidate will be hired on a Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) contract for 23 months, will receive full pay and have access to DE&S benefits. Once the FTA comes to an end, the candidate will have the opportunity to apply for a permanent position.

What does the partnership bring to the scheme?

The Autism at Work programme makes sure that not only are the candidates looked after, but that DE&S is fully supported and upskilled too. We had an amazing Designated Employer Engagement Manager from the National Autistic Society, who ran Autism Awareness sessions for the organisation, to help educate us all in what autism is, the benefits of hiring autistic candidates and how we can support an autistic colleague. The National Autistic Society has been incredibly helpful and approachable in all aspects of the scheme to make sure we’re as autism-friendly as possible, while maintaining our ethos of being fair to all candidates.

What would you say to colleagues considering doing something similar?

Go for it and do not be afraid about the outcome. All organisations are different and have their own recruitment process – there is no ‘one size fits all’ scheme. It is a trial-and-error approach to establish a process that works for your organisation while being as adaptable and friendly as possible for neurodivergent candidates. The importance of diversifying workforces must outweigh any concerns about change.