A Calgary business is proving adults on the autism spectrum can be valuable employees.
Meticulon was launched a year ago to help people with autism find jobs in information technology (IT).
Seven years ago, two Belgian entrepreneurs discovered something amazing.
“We found that they are good at looking at details, repetitive transactions, they love procedure, they love structure and they also love working with PCs – computers in general.” said Nico DeCleen, founder of Passwerk.
DeCleen and his partner used their knowledge to launch “Passwerk” – a company that matches skilled ASD workers with IT employers.
Last year, a Calgary team launched “Meticulon”, using the Belgian model.
“It’s exceeded all of our expectations actually, we have employed seven people we have two more that will be employed by the end of this quarter,” said Garth Johnson, CEO of Meticulon.
“Engaging a person with autism is really like working with a new culture, they really are slightly culturally different, the way they perceive things, the way they communicate things is different, its not wrong, its not broken it’s just different,” said Johnson.
Meticulon is now hoping to help another 20 people find employment within the next year, and eventually expand into other Canadian markets.
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