Justin Pierce, who has autism and works as an account support associate, sits at his desk in the EY offices in Chicago in 2019. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
In an effort to boost employment for people with autism and other disabilities, Wells Fargo is partnering with a university to help Fortune 500 companies create neurodiversity initiatives.
The financial services company said it will foot the bill for neurodiversity workshops for corporate leaders as part of a $3.75 million grant to the University of Connecticut’s Center for Neurodiversity and Workforce Innovation.
The full-day workshops will bring together leaders from 10 to 15 organizations to learn from UConn scholars and Wells Fargo neurodiversity program executives how to form neurodiversity initiatives at their companies.
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“Wells Fargo’s willingness to share its real-world industry expertise to create (and provide at no cost) education for American businesses based on academic and research excellence is unheard of in this field,” said Judy Reilly, CEO from the University of Connecticut Study Center. Neurodiversity and Workplace Innovation. “This partnership allows UConn to combine academic instructional design and research with real-world industry application and experience to create solutions for American businesses.”
The workshops are intended to address significant underemployment among those who are neurodivergent. According to UConn, an estimated 1 in 6 people fall into this population, but 66% of neurodivergent people are underemployed or unemployed despite being highly skilled.
“Since launching our neurodiversity program in 2020, we have experienced firsthand the significant impact these highly skilled individuals can have on the nation’s largest organizations,” said Kristy Fercho, director of diverse segments, representation and inclusion at Wells Fargo. . “Given the continued underemployment of neurodivergent talent, we understand our responsibility to work with our corporate partners to collectively educate and raise awareness about this extraordinarily valuable and untapped talent pool.”
In addition to providing education and training to companies, the Wells Fargo grant will also support research examining the business outcomes of neurodiversity programs, and the funding will go toward efforts to connect job seekers with inclusive employment, according to UConn officials. .
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