"The IDF is the world's largest employer of autistic people”
"The IDF is the world's largest employer of autistic people”
"I know what it's like to go through dozens of interviews without anyone looking me in the eye," added Captain Udi Heller, founder of the IDF's program for autistic people, who himself is autistic
"No one believed in me, no one thought I would succeed, but I am autistic and a social entrepreneur.” This is how Captain Udi Heller, founder of the IDF's program for people with autism "Titkadmu" (Move Forward), chose to introduce himself at the high-tech diversity conference organized by Calcalist, Bank Leumi and Meitar in collaboration with Power in Diversity.
"I receive dozens of messages from parents who tell me how much I have changed their child's life thanks to the program," added Heller.
According to Heller, "The IDF today is the world's largest employer of autistic people. At the end of the first year there were 300 and at the end of the second year there were 500 full-fledged soldiers, in all positions, in all units. It's a global game changer for tens of millions of autistic people. Their integration into employment is very small in Israel and in the whole world."
Heller said that "the main gap we identify is the amount of resources required for training and support, and no less important than that, the lack of knowledge on how to deal with autistic people by those who are considering hiring them. I know what it's like to be autistic in the job market. I know what it's like to go through dozens of interviews without someone looking me straight in the eye. Without people seeing the abilities beyond the disability. They want someone to look at them. They tell me that. People are afraid of what they don't know. There is a market failure here."
After Heller's moving words, Yuval Tal, CEO of DiVE, an AI-based platform aiming to assist employers to employ people on the autistic spectrum, spoke at the conference. Tal said that "our team consists of unit 8200 graduates with technological expertise and also has a mission to do good in society. Already this month, thanks to Udi, we are starting a new pilot.”
According to Tal, "the system will go into use in the upcoming recruitment cycle with 100 new soldiers on the spectrum. In order to reach the whole world we need your help, the leading people in the industry. If you really want diversity in organizations let's work together to really create a diverse society."
