Employer case study – Investment bank

What is the background to your autism internship scheme?

Over a year ago, our managing director became interested in launching our internship scheme after listening to a radio programme about employing autistic staff. Since then, we’ve worked with over twenty autistic interns in our bank’s many worldwide offices. Currently, each office has its own approaches to the initiative, but we plan to unify their methods in the near future. As a part of our programme, interns have the opportunity to experience what it is like to work in an office environment, interact with co-workers and go through a typical workday. This is a great opportunity for autistic people to practice their skills and prove their capabilities. We’ve had demonstrable success in helping autistic people build their confidence in the workplace. The two interns who have worked with our London office have both gone on to find permanent employment, one of them was offered a permanent post after their internship.

What is the structure of the internship?

The internship spans twelve weeks. We extended it from an initial ten weeks and are currently discussing whether to lengthen it even further. The internships presently cover only technical roles, but there is the possibility for expanding into other roles in the future. Despite this technical focus, the skills the interns develop are transferable and applicable to other positions and fields. Our internships are based in a single department, but the interns have the opportunity to shadow co-workers in other departments, go to meetings and engage with shareholders. The internship is used as a work trial and interns are recruited to specific vacancies. There is no guarantee of a permanent role although this is a possibility. All interns will have valuable experience of a work environment which they can apply elsewhere at the end of the internship.

How do you recruit your interns and how were adjustments made to the process?