An ecological systems model of employee experience in industry-led autism employment programmes

Industry-led employment programmes have emerged to transition autistic people into employment and meet industry labour needs. However, theoretical research is limited in this area, often failing to appreciate the influence of the broader employment ecosystem. In this study, we interviewed 33 autistic employees (n = 29 males, Mage = 29.00 years) from two industry-led employment programmes regarding their experience of the programme’s supports, relationships and impact. We used qualitative content analysis to identify five themes: (1) working involves multiple job tasks that evolve as the employment context changes; (2) workplace relations are diverse and shaped by the type of work and the work environment; (3) workplace needs evolve as autistic individuals navigate the work environment; (4) developing a professional identity in the workplace through mastery and integration; and (5) recommendations for the development of supportive workplace environments for autistic individuals. We describe the way that factors within (e.g. training) and outside the two employment programmes changed and interacted over time to contribute to the participant’s work experience and professional identity. Building on ecological systems theory, our unique contribution to the literature is a new model capturing individual and workplace factors that contribute to the work experience of autistic people who participate in industry employment programmes.