92%
retention rate of employed program participants
The DXC Dandelion Program provides an environment that supports and celebrates the talents and skills of neurodiverse people — such as those with Autism, ADHD or Dyslexia — and helps them build valuable skills to pursue a career in information technology.
The vision DXC Dandelion has is creating a sustainable program that will increase the workforce participation rate of neurodiverse people, enhancing their technical and life skills to enable the development of their IT careers.
Using recent evidence-based research, along with our experiences and learnings, we have designed a long-term development program that creates the right environment for growth with the right support structure.
Associations and industry bodies
Research, education and careers
Tools and technology
The DXC Dandelion Program is under-pinned using evidence-based research from a number of university and neurodiverse organisation partnerships we have formed around the world. We have implemented our findings into strengthening the program, enabling us to evolve, innovate and address any challenges for sustainable employment.
DXC have started a number of research initiatives over the last seven years with our local and global partnerships. These include working with the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University (OTARC), Cornell University, University of Haifa, and Ono Academic College (Israel Defence Force - IDF Autism Program). These findings have been implemented to continuously improve the Dandelion program.
Key findings generated from the research:
1. We keep individuals firmly at the centre of our decision making and planning
Our focus is on providing professional skills for neurodiverse employees, enabling them to build long-term careers, by developing:
2. A key component of success is our support model
The provision of trained technical staff and a Autism Spectrum Consultant (ASC) working with our neurodiverse employees. The ASC:
3. The DXC Dandelion Program has developed and implemented state-of-the-art technology to help support individuals and managers
Our tools such as Life Sherpa and Uptimize extend the reach of our support staff. These tools are also used by Google, Microsoft, Department of Social Services, Home Affairs, NAB and ANZ Bank.
4. DXC Curriculum
DXC Dandelion Curriculum, designed to guide the Dandelion Support Team (Technical lead and Autism Spectrum Consultant) through the implementation of the Dandelion Program. It provides a generic framework comprising of milestones to enable trainees with the best possible opportunity to achieve success.
YEAR | AWARD |
---|---|
2021 | 100% score for DXC on Disability In’s Disability Equality Index, listing DXC globally as one of the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion |
Winner of the Australian Business Award for Community Contribution 2021 | |
2020 | 100% score for DXC on Disability In’s Disability Equality Index, listing DXC globally as one of the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion |
iTnews Benchmark Awards: Diversity Project of the Year for 2019 | |
2019 | 100% score for DXC on Disability In’s Disability Equality Index, listing DXC globally as one of the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion |
| NAB Supplier Awards: Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability |
| ACS Digital Disruptors Awards: Skills Transformation of Work- Teams – Medium |
| ACS South Australian Young Professional of the Year (Felicia Vozzo) |
DXC Award for Service Delivery Excellence | |
2018 | 90% score for DXC on Disability In’s Disability Equality Index, listing DXC globally as one of the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion |
ISG ANZ - Paragon Awards – Impact category | |
2017 | 2017 ACT Chief Minister’s Award for Excellence and Inclusion in Business |
| 2017 AAGE Graduate Recruitment Industry Awards |
| 2017 AIIA iAwards - South Australia: Community Services |
2015 | 2015 AIIA iAwards - ACT: Inclusion and Community |
| 2015 Asia Pacific Autism Conference: Outstanding Service in the Autism Spectrum Field |
| 2015 Amaze Community Awards: Excellence in Business Leadership |
retention rate of employed program participants
increase in productivity reported by customers
job satisfaction reported by neurodiverse people
of participating workplaces offer permanent postions to neurodiverse people after program conclusion
co-workers say the program doesn’t add any additional overhead work
workplaces report a competitive advantage since developing a neurodiverse workforce
As a leading Fortune 500 technology services company with a global ecosystem of technology alliance partners, neurodiverse people are provided with broad education pathways and career progression opportunities.