Charity launches campaign for 1,000 autistic employment opportunities

Its new campaign, 1,000 Opportunities: Inclusive Futures, is backed by MPs and big businesses in the region including Tyne Tunnel operator TT2 and Darlington Building Society.

The campaign aims to create 1,000 much-needed employment opportunities for autistic people in the region.

Only three in 10 autistic people are in work – the lowest rate of any disability group – even though three-quarters of unemployed autistic people say they want a job.

John Phillipson, chief executive of NEAS, says: “We meet people every day who have skills they could bring to the employment market, yet they are blocked because of obstacles that are often very minimal.”

Companies that sign up to the NEAS campaign will be asked to look at ways they can create new opportunities, look again at their hiring practices, and support neurodivergent colleagues at work.

They will join a network of business partners with access to case studies and resources, with the potential of online training and in-person events later in the year.

Find out more and sign up for the 1,000 Opportunities campaign.