Why employers are struggling to fill tech positions
| |As the British Columbia economy slowly recovers from the aftermath of the global pandemic, the demand for highly qualified workers is far outstripping the available workforce across just about every field. There are many reasons for this discrepancy, from a reluctance in potential workers in returning to a potentially unsafe workplace to a rapid growth in many sectors that doesn’t match the availability of workers with the right skills, experience and knowledge to be successful. For workers, this is great news as companies are looking at ways to incentivise them to take a new challenge, with tactics ranging from improved compensation benefits to a fascinating array of company perks like cars and phones.
Alternative Sources Of Talent
One strategy that some British Columbia businesses are slowly tapping into is looking at different pools of available talent, and in particular they are linking up with the best autism tech agency Vancouver has to offer. Autistic workers are highly underrepresented in the Canadian workforce; it’s estimated that across the country over 80% of adults with a diagnosis somewhere on the autism spectrum either unemployed or underemployed (this situation is where the worker is in work, but isn’t being used to their full capacity of skills and qualifications). However, autistic workers bring a lot of unique skills to the tech workplace:
- Excellent pattern recognition – one of the most common symptoms across most forms of autism is the ability to recognize patterns in large data sets. This skill often makes autistic adults with low support needs experts in the backend IT field as they are able to look at data output from various programs and see patterns of errors and non-optimal performance. This debugging work will also appeal to a typical need for a low stimulation environment with minimal need for complex social interactions.
- A new way of seeing things – a broader term often associated with autism is that of neurodiversity. How this truly translates into day to day life is that autistic employees will see and perceive the world in different ways to their neurotypical peers. This can be a strength for them in the technology world when it comes to systems analysis, both at a micro and a global level. They will be able to see inefficiencies in the system and, with the correct support and company specific training, they will be able to put their vision for a better way of doing things into practice.
- Sustained focus – finally, another strength that can be found across many autistic adults is their ability to sustain concentration on repetitive tasks for extended periods of time. In the computing world, this helps them excel at data entry and research positions, especially if they are able to work in a field which matches their personal interests. This ability to focus for long periods of time comes with the caveat of possible burnout and strain that all technology employees face, and for some autistic individuals, dedicated breaks need to be scheduled to keep them fresh and ready for more.
Choosing A Tech Agency
Trying to hire autistic workers directly in British Columbia can be challenging as the typical hiring process is heavily weighted towards neurotypical job seekers. That’s why many employers who are struggling to fill tech position in the old way are turning to autism tech agencies to help fill their spaces. When they’re looking for the best tech agency Vancouver has to offer, they need to look out for agencies that:
- Recruit for them – an autism tech agency should do the leg of finding qualified and interested autistic workers and providing them with the appropriate training to get them ready for the technology workplace. This includes helping them develop the life skills associated with work such as navigating the commute and handling common social situations at work.
- Offer interview support – autism tech agencies should also be willing to support both the autistic employee and the hiring company through the interview process. This may involve changing the age old face to face model to a task or group based interview which will allow the autisitic individual to truly show what they are capable of.
- Stay around after onboarding – finally, it’s a truth worth acknowledging that autism is a life long condition with no known cure. As such, autism tech agencies worth hiring should be willing to support both the company and their new employee beyond the initial onboarding phase. This could be assistance with supervision or just being available to talk difficult situations through.