US Technology Giant Microsoft to Hire People With Autism in Washington Head-Office

US technology giant Microsoft has launched a pilot project to hire people with autism at its headquarters in Washington state.

"People with autism bring strengths that we need at Microsoft. Each individual is different, some have amazing ability to retain information, think at a level of detail and depth or excel in math or code. It's a talent pool that we want to continue to bring to Microsoft," said Mary Ellen Smith, a corporate vice president wrote in a company blog last week.

Smith also said the program builds on longstanding efforts at Microsoft to enlist people with disabilities.

"The traits that usually exclude people with autism from the labor market are the very traits that make them valuable employees a Specialisterne, such as attention to detail, zero tolerance for errors and a persistence to get the job done," according to the group's website.

Specialisterne previously assisted German technology company SAP on a venture hire workers with autism.



Source: Medindia