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.
Employer Partners
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
Corning
Credit Suisse
Fidelity Investments
Fokus Labs
General Electric
JP Morgan
Lenovo
NC Business Committee for Education
NC Department of Commerce
NC Department of Health and Human Services
NC Department of Information Technology
NC Department of Public Instruction
NC Department of Public Safety
NC Department of Revenue
NC Department of Transportation
NC Office of the Governor
Novozymes North America
Participate
PassionIT Group
Penny Mac
Red Hat
Revature
SAS
Sears
Smithfield Foods
State Employees Credit Union
Technica Editorial Services
UNC Genetics
UNC Healthcare
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