LiNC-IT is an employment program for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The current unemployment rate for individuals with ASD is 86% despite the fact that many of these individuals have the skills and education employers need.
The LiNC-IT Collaborative
LiNC-IT was launched in 2018 and is the first statewide workforce program to support autistic talent. The LiNC-IT Collaborative was created to provide employment experience, paid internships, or on-the-job training for students and professionals with autism, as well as to provide employers with a pipeline of excellent talent often missed during conventional recruitment processes. The following organizations play an essential role in supporting the pipeline of neurodivergent employees:
LiNC-IT leverages vocational rehabilitation funding from the NC Department of Health and Human Services with high quality service providers who are experts in supporting autistic individuals.
LiNC-IT Partner Employers
The goal of the employer partners is reducing the unemployment rate and improving the workplace experience for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder by increasing knowledge and acceptance of a neurodivergent workforce at North Carolina companies.
Employers who have benefitted from LiNC-IT recruits:
Alamance Community College
Bank of America
BioAgilytix
Biogen
Carrboro Arts Center
Caterpillar
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank
Fidelity Investments
General Electric
Jackson Hewitt
JP Morgan
Lenovo
NC Dept of Commerce
NC Dept of Health and Human Services
NC Dept of Information Technology
NC Dept of Natural and Cultural Resources
NC Dept of Public Instruction
NC Dept of Public Safety
NC Dept of Revenue
NC Dept of Transportation
NC Office of the Governor
NCBCE
Novo Nordisk
Novozymes North America
Participate
PassionIT Group
PennyMac
Red Hat
SAS
Sears
SECU
Smithfield Foods
SoftwareONE
Southern Alamance Family Connection
Technica Editorial Services
UNC Chapel Hill
UNC Healthcare
Vadum
Wake County Public Libraries
Wake Technical Community College
Wells Fargo
Higher Ed Collaborative
The North Carolina Higher Education Collaborative (NCHEC) is a consortium of universities and colleges in North Carolina dedicated to creating equity in the availability, access, and quality of paid degree-related internships or on-the-job training for North Carolina students who identify as autistic.
Partnering universities and colleges also provide an array of services and programs dedicated to educating faculty, staff, and campus employers in addition to serving our students both academically and in their career development. NCHEC is led by Glenna Osborne from the UNC TEACCH Autism Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. If you are interested in partnering with NCHEC, or if you would like more information, please contact glenna_osborne@med.unc.edu.
Higher education institutions
benefitting from the LiNC-IT employers:
- North Carolina State University
- Duke University
- East Carolina University
- Elon University
- Fayetteville State University
- Meredith College
- North Carolina Central University
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Leadership of the LiNC-IT Collaborative:
Caroline Sullivan, Executive Director of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education
Morgan Crawford, Deputy Director at the North Carolina Business Committee for Education
Emma Friesen, Program Assistant at the North Carolina Business Committee for Education and Member of the State Rehabilitation Council
Michael Chapman, Director of TEACCH Employment Services at UNC Chapel Hill
Glenna Osborne, Director of Transition Services at the TEACCH Autism Program at UNC Chapel Hill
Shannon Pena, Employment Supports Director at the Autism Society of North Carolina
Mindy Govan, Transition and Employment Services Director at the Autism Society of North Carolina
Adrienne Kittle, Program Specialist for I/DD at the NC Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Becca Alley, Neurodivergent Advisor and Former LiNC-IT Participant
If you are interested in LiNC-IT fliers, contact us at ncbceadmin@nc.gov.
There is a flier for participants and a flier for employer partners.