Supporting Untapped Talent

With Ambitious About Autism

Supporting Untapped

Talent

Neurodiversity, and specifically autism, has been a key part of the inclusion work of Investment20/20 over the last two years. According to the ONS’s report on ‘Outcomes for Disabled People’, only 29% of autistic people are in full- or part-time employment, among the lowest rates of employment of all disabled groups.

Whilst autism presents differently in each person, there can often be some common strengths, including attention to detail, high levels of integrity, learning information quickly, punctuality, being able to concentrate for long periods of time, different approaches to problem solving, among many other attributes.

The investment management sector has taken steps to reduce barriers to employment for people with autism by partnering with Investment20/20 and Ambitious About Autism.

"We are delighted to be working with Investment20/20 and leading investment firms, to offer autistic young people rewarding paid internships. Only 29% of autistic people are in full-time employment so initiatives like this are invaluable in giving young people the opportunity to explore career paths. So far in 2022, we have had four autistic interns join three firms, with another two interns due to take this exciting next step later in the year. We’re looking forward to developing our partnership and building further relationships in the investment management sector."

Felicity Carter, Programme Manager Employ Autism

Ambitious About Autism, is the national charity standing with autistic children and young people. Its national Employ Autism programme helps autistic people join the workforce by breaking down barriers and increasing confidence in autism and neurodiversity. The programme delivers training, resources and ongoing mentorship to a wide range of partners across the UK, including employers, careers professionals, parents and young people.  Employ Autism resonates highly with the Investment20/20 programme; both share common principles of recruiting on potential, opening access to employment and providing support for employers to make systemic changes to their recruitment culture and infrastructure.

Working together, Investment20/20 and Ambitious About Autism provide a mechanism by which employers can develop a culture that is inclusive of neurodiversity and specifically autism. The partnership was spearheaded by BNP Paribas Securities Services UK, and now other members have also signed up.

"BNP Paribas Securities Services are proud to partner with Ambitious About Autism on the Employ Autism programme. What is unique about this partnership is the ongoing support not only to the trainee but to the line manager. The training provided to the management and team members has enabled us to better understand neurodiversity to support not only the trainees who join us via this programme but all staff in the bank."

Jennifer Staunton, BNP Paribas Securities Services

The Investment20/20 and Ambitious About Autism partnership brings together the Investment20/20 experience of early talent and Ambitious About Autism’s expertise in neurodiversity. We support our members to build a culture of inclusion, reviewing recruitment processes, training for line managers, and recruiting a person with autism on a short term paid placement. Those recruited join the Investment20/20 programme and access our training and support, both during their placement and towards the end to apply for a full Investment20/20 trainee position. In addition, Investment20/20 and Ambitious About Autism work closely together during the recruitment stage, where individual information sessions on investment management are available to support candidates.

We are thrilled to have onboarded our first recruit in partnership with Ambitious About Autism. We see this as a firm marker of our commitment to building awareness of the value of strong neurodiversity in the workplace.

Annabelle Wood, Organisational Development Manager, Jupiter Asset Management

“Schroders partnered with Ambitious About Autism to provide two neurodiverse individuals with a six month internship each in our Global Technology team. Our two talented interns will learn about the technology we use and how it supports our business. It is also a great opportunity for us as we are proactively seeking to increase the diversity of our talent pools and I’m really excited to see how this partnership develops. Ambitious About Autism were a great support in our search for candidates and provided helpful advice on how to be more inclusive in our hiring and onboarding process.”

Sarah Gibbons, Head of Shared Service Operations, Schroders

If your organisation is interested in partnering with both Investment20/20 and Ambitious About Autism, please contact your Client Relationship Manager Gina Griesel or Juliet Leith

USEFUL RESOURCES

Investment20/20 webinar on autism with Ambitious About Autism

Ambitious about Autism’s Transition to employment toolkit has been developed to support those working with autistic young people to understand their needs and help them onto the job ladder, or into further training or education. It includes resources for employers, careers professionals and young autistic people themselves.