ABLE – Autism Building Links with Employers has its basis and rationale from evaluations carried out in relation to working with people with Autism on a National and European perspective. A key barrier identified was the lack of knowledge of employers in relation to the characteristics of people with Autism and the workplace adjustments which may be necessary to have an inclusive workforce. In line with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of people with Disabilities Article 27 it is essential that we include people with Autism in an open work environment, therefore it is imperative that employers receive the necessary training and knowledge to enable them to employ people with Autism. The aim of Project ABLE is to enhance the employment of people with ASD through improving the quality of knowledge and understanding of the employers via a new and innovative Vocational Education and Training (VET) learning offer. The objectives of the project are: • To ensure partner organisations agree and sign full project implementation contracts month 3 • To conduct and complete an Employer Attitudinal Review within the first 9 months of the project • To conduct a Peer Analysis of the existing training courses within 9 months of the project • To develop and design a training course and resources for employers by month 12 • To adapted/customising the training course for 4 partner states month 15 • To agree minimum standards for delivery and system for quality control for the Training material within the 2nd year of the project • To test the training course with at least 10 employers in each of the partner states (40 employers) month 18 • To further adapt the training materials based on the result of the testing month 20 • To produce a final training material and training resources month 22 • To appoint an external evaluator to undertake an interim (Year 1) and final (Year 2) Evaluation Report • To agree and implement a European and National Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy initiated with in the first 6 months of the project • To agree a sustainability strategy with in the 1st year of the project • To hold 6 Project meetings months 1, 6, 9, 12, 19, 24. The main target group are Employers wishing to select, recruit and maintain people on the ASD spectrum in the open labour market. European statistics( www.eu-aims.eu/autism-spectrum-disorder-asd ) states that 1% of the European Population are on the Autistic Spectrum. Thus an estimated 3 million people in Europe are affected by ASD in addition it is likely that this condition will increase as government statistics suggest that prevalence rate of ASD is increasing by 10-17% annually. The report “Autism and Work. Together We Can 2014” (http://www.autismeurope.org/files/files/report-on-autism-and-employment-en-online.pdf ) confirmed that between 76 - 90% of adults with autism are unemployed. This report also states the greatest challenges that people with Autism face in relation to employment are the lack of access to opportunities and discrimination thus highlighting employers lack of understanding of the issues around Autism. The ABLE Project Summary of activities and events • 5 partners – Orchardville Society (Coordinator), Autism NI, IASE, MISA and Theotokos Foundation • 6 Project Meetings – October 2015 (N Ireland) , March 2016 (Sweden), June 2016(Ireland), October 2016 (Greece), April 2017 (Ireland) and September 2017 (N Ireland) • Intellectual Outputs o Employer Attitudinal Review o Training Material • Mulitiplier Events o Launch Employer Attitudinal Review (June 2016 Ireland) o National Dissemination Events (August/September 2017 in Greece, Ireland and Sweden) o European Dissemination Event (September 2017 in N Ireland) • Task Leaders o Project Management – Orchardville Society (Coordinator) o Employer Attitudinal Review – MISA o Peer Review – Autism NI o Training Course Materials development and design – Orchardville Society o Training Course Testing – Theotokos Foundation o Dissemination and Exploitation – IASE