Assessment, training, and job coaching for ICT professionals with autism

Critical Software in Portugal launched a Neurodiversity Program in 2021, hiring 28 autistic individuals in ICT roles. The initiative expanded to other companies and cities by 2024.

Critical Software, based in Coimbra, Portugal, launched a Neurodiversity Programme with the Danish organization Specialisterne to hire individuals with autism in the field of ICT. The programme, launched in 2021, offers recruitment adjustments, specialized support, and customized accommodations, with a focus on such areas as cybersecurity, software development, and testing. By 2024, 28 people from the autistic spectrum have been employed, and the programme has expanded to other companies and cities.

Problems Targeted

According to Autism Speaks and the National Autistic Society of Portugal, around 80 per cent of people with autism are unemployed.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Critical Software started to recruit, train, and include professionals with Autism Spectrum Disorders into its software engineering teams in 2021. For the programme’s implementation the company hired Specialisterne, an organization from Denmark (and a Zero Project Awardee) that pioneered the idea to train and hire autistic people. This is Specialisterne’s first project based in Portugal. To accommodate the candidates, Critical Software has adjusted the recruiting process, offering tailor-made support and workplace adaptations. The course consists of technical training, such as software testing, and individual social skill development. The output is a profile of each candidate, where strengths, main challenges, and recommended strategies for inclusion are detailed. Once recruited by an employer, there is ongoing coaching both for the newly hired participant and for the employer’s hosting team that is providing the hire with support. The salary of professionals is fully aligned with the company’s salary policy and takes into account the professional category and previous experience of the employee in question. Each year an average of 60 candidates apply for the Neurodiversity Programme and 15 applicants are selected for the training phase.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The training is free for participants, fully funded by the employer. In 2022 and 2023 the automotive software company Critical TechWorks joined the programme, expanding its impact; and in 2024 the programme welcomed other tech companies, with NOS – Portugal’s largest communications group – joining the neuro inclusion movement. Additionally, Critical Software plans to expand to other cities and countries. (Zero Project Awardee 2025)