German software giant SAP to hire people with autism
German software giant SAP said it intended to employ hundreds of
people globally with autism as software testers and programmers over the
next seven years.
The company, which has already launched pilot projects in India and
Ireland, said the move aimed to find workers “who think differently”,
leading to innovation.
By 2020, one percent of SAP’s currently 65,000-strong workforce is
expected to be affected by autism, a company spokesman told AFP.
In India the group said it had taken on six people with autism as
software testers and that productivity and cohesiveness in key areas had
increased as a result. Under the Ireland-based pilot scheme, screening
is being completed for five positions to be filled this year, it added.
SAP, which is working with Specialisterne, an organisation
established in Denmark in 2004 on the scheme, said it would widen the
programme globally, kicking off in the US, Canada and Germany this year.
“With Specialisterne, we share a common belief that innovation comes
from the ‘edges’,” Luisa Delgado, a member of SAP’s executive board said
in a written statement. “Only by employing people who think differently
and spark innovation will SAP be prepared to handle the challenges of
the 21st century.”
Specialisterne aims to harness the talents of people with autism to
work in technology-orientated jobs and operates internationally, the SAP
statement said. In Germany, employers with at least 20 staff members are
legally required to ensure that at least five percent of these jobs go
to severely disabled people.
AFP
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