Autism and employment

An area that I hope to move into in terms of research is the employment of adults with autistic spectrum disorders.

And how pleased I was to see this morning an article on the BBC News website on this very subject.

The article details a new venture right here in Scotland.

Some details:

Denmark which has made huge strides in employing workers with autism is expecting to begin work in the UK soon.

Specialisterne was started by a Danish man whose own son has autism.

Thorkil Sonne now employs more than 40 people with autism.

He is finalising plans to set up a branch in Glasgow in the coming months.

He hopes to hire 50 workers in the first three years of operating in Scotland.

See Why a firm wants staff with autism by Jane Dreaper for more details.

Organized crime and call centres

BBC Scotland reports today on how, "One in 10 of Glasgow's call centres has been infiltrated by criminal gangs".

Criminal gangs are said to start their scams by planting staff inside offices or by forcing current employees to provide sensitive customer details.

The information gathered is then used to steal identities and fraudulently set up accounts or transfer money.

The Customer Contact Association (CCA) has tried to play down the extent of the problem - believed to be a problem for around one in ten call centres in the Glasgow area.

However, with 300 call centres in Glasgow area alone, it suggests this a much bigger problem that the CCA cares to admit.

For one, if call centres cannot fully control what goes on in the UK, it questions the extent to which work of this kind outsourced to countries such as India can be controlled.

See Call centres infiltrated by gangs by Raymond Buchanan for more details. There is also a video link for this article.