Module 5: Recruiting and Hiring

Assessments and Certification

Upon creating a partnership with a school or organization, an employer can request the school or organization to conduct the skills assessment and tests required. There must be a clear written agreement that the organization has agreed to assess the skills pertinent to the job and is willing to issue a Certification of Skills.

Certification of Skills

The Certification of Skills provided by the partner school or organization can be used by the company as a basis for hiring. This is especially useful for job seekers without a diploma from a mainstream school. The Certification identifies the skills and level of functionality concerning a job. This will take into account the limits and testing of social and communication skills for certain forms of neurodivergency.

Job Matching

If the skills are found to match the job, the employer should meet with the applicant and any applicable partner organizations or guardians to further discuss with them the skills, experience, personality, and other background information.

Employers may also conduct additional selection tests for the applicant given that these tests do not unfairly discriminate against neurodivergent applicants. Some adjustments may be essential to enable the applicants to effectively demonstrate their skills, such as:

providing more time to complete tests

rewording or rephrasing of questions

adjusting how the best is scored

providing support equipment

allowing a break in long tests

Application Forms

Application forms prepared by the employer should encourage job seekers to declare disabilities, skills, and relevant personal information. This would reflect the employer's commitment to a positive and welcoming approach towards providing equal opportunities in hiring neurodivergent job seekers.

Here are some guidelines to take note of in crafting application forms:

inquire on the reasonable adjustments the applicant will need

do not insist on hand-written replies, such that it may be accomplished with the assistance of the parent/guardian or the partner school or organization

ensure that the form is easy to follow, highly readable, and has adequate space for replies