A-Plus Employment program
The A-Plus Employment program supports businesses to embrace inclusion and leverage the strengths and capabilities of existing and new Autistic employees.
In today’s competitive business landscape, Australian employers are wrestling with a scarcity of skilled workers and ever-increasing costs of attrition. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate among Autistic individuals remains disproportionately high, almost eight times that of individuals without disabilities.
This misalignment presents a significant opportunity for businesses to address their labour shortage while fostering a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
Autistic individuals have a strong desire to work, and their strengths and perspectives can greatly benefit the Australian workforce. But relying on traditional employment practices often limits access to this diverse talent pool and unintentionally excludes Autistic people from the workplace.
Our A-Plus Employment program works to bridge the gap between employers and Autistic employees – ensuring that organisations and businesses can access the diverse talents of Autistic people, and Autistic people can gain meaningful employment and make a valued contribution to society.
The A-Plus Employment program is designed to drive the following outcomes:
• Equips employers with the capability and confidence, knowledge and tools to create an inclusive work environment
• Enables a culture of diversity, acceptance, and innovation with the workplace.
• Promotes awareness and understanding of autism within workplaces, challenging misconceptions, and supporting managers and HR to move beyond a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to Autistic inclusion.
• Facilitates meaningful employment for Autistic individuals by connecting them to A-Plus Employers and enabling them to access traditional employment and contribute to the workforce.
By embracing the A-Plus Employment program, businesses have the chance to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.
More details about the program are detailed below.
References: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018. 4430.0 Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings 2018. 
The A-Plus Employment program is designed specifically for organisations seeking to create autism-inclusive workplaces. Through a demand-side approach, we empower businesses to implement practical and scalable practices that foster a supportive environment for Autistic individuals. Informed by evidence and co-designed with input from both the Autistic community and businesses, our program ensures relevance, practicality and scalability across organisations of all sizes.
Working in partnership with organisations and businesses, the A-Plus program focuses on equipping employers with the understanding, knowledge and tools to attract, develop and retain Autistic talent.
We offer tailored learning content and advisory services that support organisations to implement autism-inclusive recruitment practices, establish accessible onboarding processes, and create robust support mechanisms throughout the employee journey.
To ensure that organisations are equipped with the knowledge and understanding required to embed positive, practical and sustainable autism inclusive practices, the A-Plus program covers the following topics:
• Exploring neurodivergent experiences
• Understanding neurodiversity
• The principles of autism inclusive workplaces
• Onboarding and induction
• Recruitment and selection
• Managing neurodiverse teams
• Supporting performance
• Modifications and adjustments
The A-Plus Employment program offers various engagement options tailored to the needs and capacities of organisations and businesses. Whether you are at the early stages of your inclusion journey or ready to make a comprehensive commitment, we have solutions to support your goals in creating an autism-inclusive workplace.
• Instructor-led training – creating a base level of autism knowledge and understanding.
• Self-paced program – utilising an online module that supports organisations to embed the learning in a flexible and agile way.
• Cohort-based training – enabling smaller organisations to undertake the program with other like-minded organisations.
• Whole organisation training – supporting teams, departments/divisions or whole organisations to become inclusive workplaces for Autistic people.
If you’re ready to get started on your A-Plus Employment program journey, call us on 03 9567 1600 or email [email protected].
To find out more about the A-Plus Employment program, fill out the below form and we will send you a brochure with more details outlining the program, our approach and how the A-Plus Employment program can work for your organisation.