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German IT Firm Seeks Autistic Workers
Aguazul2 writes "The German software giant SAP has announced it plans to recruit hundreds of people with autism within the next few years. The project has already started in India and Ireland where a total of 11 people with autism are employed by the company. The program to take on software testers, programmers and data management workers will spread across Germany, Canada and the U.S. this year. People with autism have a neural development disorder that often undermines their ability to communicate and interact socially [...] but in the world of computers the tendencies they often display such as an obsession for detail and an ability to analyze long sets of data very accurately can translate into highly useful and marketable skills."
SAP want them cause they are easily exploitable.
No, SAP wants them because the state mandates a quota of people with disabilities to all larger companies, and in exchange, the companies get various benefits from the state for every such employee.
Ezekiel 23:20
SAP aren't the first to do this.
Thorkil Sonne at Specialisterne in Denmark has built a consultancy of autistics.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_Dark
It's a good story in any case, and it's told from the point of view of an autistic person who works for a company that has specifically be hireing people, sounding very similar to this story
David Lang
85% of autistic people are unemployed, though most are willing and able to work.
http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/employment.aspx
i.e. German "Schwerbehindertengesetz" http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerbehindertenrecht_%28Deutschland%29
"Private und öffentliche Arbeitgeber mit mindestens 20 Arbeitsplätzen sind verpflichtet, auf mindestens 5 % der Arbeitsplätze schwerbehinderte Menschen zu beschäftigen."
=> "employers with more than 20 employees are obligated to fill at least 5% of these spots with ppl with disabilities."
if they don't, they are subject to extra fees, however many companies choose to rather pay these fees than deal with the extra hassles in case you need to fire employees with disabilities. the fees are not very high anyway, but i have no source atm. it's a couple hundred euro a year per unfilled spot iirc.
Workers with disabilities also have better job protection, extra leave days, protection against discrimination, etc.
You are confusing "Hockdruck" and "Hochdruck". "Hockdruck" is German for "squatting pressure". Uncomfortably related, though.