SAP Hiring Technology Workers with Autism Spectrum Disorders
German enterprise software company SAP’s new recruiting initiative will focus on enriching its pool of software testers, programmers, and data quality assurance specialists by hiring more applicants with autism spectrum disorders.
Working globally with Specialisterne, a Danish-based firm that helps find employment for people with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum, SAP plans to expand upon several pilot programs in India and Ireland.
According to the SAP announcement:
Working locally with Specialisterne, SAP Labs in India hired six people with autism as software testers for SAP Business Suite applications. As a result, the team has increased their productivity and cohesiveness in key areas. The Ireland pilot is currently completing the screening phase for five positions to be filled this year.
“SAP is the first multinational company to partner with us on a global scale,” said Thorkil Sonne, founder of Specialisterne and chairman of the board of the Specialist People Foundation, which owns Specialisterne Denmark. The impetus for Specialisterne and the Specialist People Foundation began when his young son was diagnosed with autism.
Specialisterne translates from Danish as “the specialists,” and the company has an apt tagline—“Passion for details."
This is the latest move in what appears to be an interesting new trend. Plano, Texas-based CRM firm Alliance Data recently started seeking out workers on the autistic spectrum, as have other IT-related businesses such as the Berlin-based consultancy Auticon. SAP is the first major multinational to adopt similar hiring policies.
SAP expects to expand the program to the United States, Canada, and Germany sometime during 2013.
