Autism Association 2024 Annual Report

AIM Employment is a highly regarded specialist employment program for people with Autism. It is also the only Autism Specialist program that is contracted by the Department of Social Services to provide a Disability Employment Service (DES). This year, individuals were supported to find and maintain employment across a range of industries and sectors, including engineering, law, IT, hospitality, warehousing, banking and finance, healthcare, mining, retail, and many more. Additionally, we assisted individuals through the NDIS Employment program to prepare for and obtain employment. Assistance included public transport awareness, interview skills, resume development, work experiences, job sampling and paid employment. We continued to expand our partnerships, with new partners including The Water Corporation, Synergy, Tomra Recycling, and Redrawn as well as strengthening our partnerships and increasing our employment opportunities with Hospitality Disability Network (HDN) and the Autism Academy of Software Quality Assurance (AASQA). Ongoing advocacy and employer training continues to result in more conversations with prospective employers and an increase in opportunities for Autistic job seekers. We continued training sessions for local businesses to increase their understanding of Autism and provide them with strategies to better support Autistic individuals in the workplace. This year, we provided training to a range of employers, including the Department of Transport, BHP, Bankwest, CSIRO, and Rio Tinto. In addition, we continued to work with schools and families to provide information on employment pathways and post-school support options. We also increased our employment supports to incorporate school leavers. This provides the opportunity for school leavers to develop job-readiness skills and gain valuable and positive workplace experiences. During the last 12 months, we also undertook a strategy called Work Assist, for new and existing employers. This service supports employees who are experiencing difficulties in maintaining their employment, and supports employers to keep their experienced employees. The consolidation of both the DES and NDIS programs into an integrated employment service this year is providing opportunities for an effective pathway into long term employment for Autistic job seekers. Our Employment program is dedicated to supporting job seekers with Autism to find and maintain work in an area of their choice. Across the year, we supported 417 individuals to prepare for, find, and maintain employment.

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