Employment Services
The AQ Employment Services Team currently delivers three bespoke programs supporting the provision of specialist employment for autistic and other neurodivergent adults seeking work and enabling businesses to successfully employ autistic people.
These services are for adults 18 years and over who are:
- Looking for work; or
- Interested in discovering what work might look like for them
- Keen to receive tailored autism-specific support to find and maintain work.
To learn more about the different options currently available, click on the sections below to read more and submit an enquiry.
Autism EmployABLE
Autism EmployABLE 3 (AE3) is the third phase of our participant led, autism-specific employment access program for adults to explore, navigate and sustain work.
Unique autism-specific features of this program include the use of a range of evidence-based practices to assist autistic individuals gain and maintain meaningful employment, and to enable businesses to successfully employ autistic people.
- We work with autistic individuals, supporting them into appropriate, sustainable employment.
- We work with businesses to raise autism awareness, build knowledge and understanding regarding the benefits of employing autistic people. We support them to become self-sufficient in making autism-specific accommodations and to create more appropriate job opportunities that benefit both their organisation and our participants.
The long-term outcomes of Autism EmployABLE are:
- More people in the community working alongside autistic employees, leading to increased workplace acceptance and understanding of autism.
- Acknowledgement and utilisation of the huge resource and talent that autistic individuals can bring to an organisation.
- Truly inclusive and diverse workforces that represent the people that they serve.
Autism EmployABLE is funded by the Department of Social Services. For more information visit www.dss.gov.au.
EmployABLE for Participants
Autism-specific bespoke participant-led support for adults aged 18-30* years.
Professional staff with autism expertise support autistic adults to discover their interests, marketable strengths and skills in relation to working in an open employment environment. We get to know each participant, create employment goals using our own goal setting tool and focus on work-related skill development such as social-communication, disclosure of diagnosis, self-advocacy and workplace expectations.
- A diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Aged between 18 -30 years*
- Motivation to work and be looking for a minimum of eight hours paid employment in an open employment market.
- The right to work in Australia.
(*some exceptions can be made. Please contact us for further information.)
EmployABLE for Businesses/Employers
Autism EmployABLE engages with businesses to:
- Create bespoke employment solutions that meet business needs.
- Develop awareness of autism and the benefits of employing an autistic individual by creating mutually beneficial relationships.
- Develop capacity within the business to successfully employ an autistic individual.
- Support businesses in harnessing an individual’s strengths and understanding the ways in which the business can accommodate for possible challenges where appropriate.
- Autism-specific role and workplace audits to identify the suitability of a role and the working environment for each participant.
- On-the-job autism-specific coaching for autistic employees, their co-workers and managers to facilitate a productive and inclusive working environment.
This video about former EmployABLE participant Michael, was produced by the Queensland Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) and shared with the community in August 2022.
Neurodiversity Works
This bespoke program aims to support, educate and build employer confidence to successfully hire neurodivergent adults and retain those already working them. Our specialists can support, educate and work with employers in Queensland.
The Neurodiversity Works program is funded through the Workforce Connect Fund, powered by the Queensland Government’s Good people. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032.
EmployREADY
EmployREADY supports autistic adults to realise their NDIS employment goals*.
Through one-on-one engagement with the person seeking work, we build and foster their individual’s strengths and interests.
Using AQ’s Adolescent/Adult Goal Setting Tool, the individual determines the areas of support they would like to focus on in order to achieve successful and meaningful employment. While this will include mainstream job searching skills, other goals may include:
- Understanding my diagnosis
- Social communication in the workplace
- Dealing with conflict, and
- Self-advocacy.
Participants, depending on their skills and interests, work towards understanding tasks and job roles and exposure to work types/environments through engagement with local businesses, ultimately finding suitable and sustainable roles they will thrive in.
