Reading Comprehension 2

Harnessing unique abilities

Most children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) go through a multitude of early intervention
programmes, with some making it to university and graduating with stellar results. However,
when they go out looking for jobs as young adults, the music somehow stops. Which is why,
when it comes to enabling those with ASD to seamlessly integrate into corporate sector jobs, few
can rival construction giant Gamuda Bhd’s efforts: the engineering and property development
group has been hiring young people with autism for white-collar jobs for a few years now.
Project DA (Differently-Abled) was initiated by Gamuda’s group managing director Datuk Lin
Yun Ling and launched in 2013 as part of the public-listed group’s broader Diversity & Inclusion
programme designed to create an inclusive workplace.

After all, globally, a strong business case has been made to include people with autism – seen as
a largely untapped talent pool – in the workforce, with benefits ranging from intense focus to
immense creativity. Currently, Gamuda has five full time staff who are professionally trained to
support the group’s 20 DA employees; aged between 21 and 39 years old, these people have
been hired in clerical, research, and IT programming roles across various departments, including
human resources, trading, contracts and commercial, IT, and finance.

To date, they remain the only company in Malaysia that employs a significant number of people
with autism for white collar jobs. Gamuda also has in place a proper recruitment structure to
provide the necessary support to enable the employees to become valued contributors to
Gamuda. The DA employees are displaying increased levels of self-esteem, dignity, and
fulfilment upon finding a meaningful career. In addition, the families of these differently-abled
persons are comforted by the fact that their children have the opportunity to lead a meaningful
and independent life through gainful employment.

Gamuda Contracts & Commercial general manager, Hong Kok Siong, who has volunteered with
Project DA since it started, and his team have scaled up Project DA with the launch of Gamuda’s
Enabling Academy (EA), which is a three-month employment transition programme that aims to
train more individuals on the autism spectrum so they can be placed in white-collar jobs in other
companies.

The academy, the only one of its kind in Malaysia, will also train its students in soft skills
involving personal, life, and career management. EA is a natural step in ensuring the
sustainability of hiring and including people with autism as part of the Malaysian workforce. To
ensure that more people on the autism spectrum are able to find employment, they started the
Enabling Academy so that young adults who have gone through early intervention and a certain
level of education can be employed in white-collar jobs.
In May 2017, 10 pre-screened trainees make up the first batch to be trained under EA at the
Gamuda Learning Centre in Damansara Jaya, Selangor, where a whole floor is dedicated to
training and workshop sessions for people with autism. The purpose-built facility is also
designed to simulate a corporate office so that the practical job skills training can be as realistic
as possible. At any one time, the programme will accommodate a maximum of 12 differently-
abled trainees, ensuring a ratio of one trainer to two students.

There are quite a number of companies offering jobs to those with ASD, these tend to be more
blue-collar in nature and mostly in the retail and hospitality industries. As far as white-collar jobs
are concerned, it is rare. However, looking at the strengths and attributes of those with ASD, it
can be seen that they will be useful in certain white-collar jobs. For instance, those with ASD
tend to be very focused and detailed, and they are great at tasks that are repetitive in nature.

(Adapted from Star2.com, May 2017)

1. In paragraph 1, the writer is making the point that
A. there are many children with autism
B. some children do not go through early intervention programmes
C. some young people with ASD graduate with outstanding results
D. young people with ASD are unable to get employment

2. The Diversity & Inclusion programme was designed to create more job opportunities for
young people on the autistic spectrum
A. True
B. False
C. Not stated

3. untapped (line 11), means

A. irrelevant
B. underused
C. not utilised
D. put aside

4. What is false about Gamuda?

A. Gamuda aims to train individuals on the autism spectrum for blue-collar jobs
B. Gamuda has a proper recruitment structure to provide the necessary support
C. The DA employees are encouraged to become valued contributors of Gamuda
D. The DA employees have increased sense of fulfillment when they have meaningful
careers

5. Paragraph 6 is mainly about

A. young adults on the autism spectrum who went through early intervention
B. the soft skills trained in EA
C. the purpose of EA in training young adults on the autism spectrum

6. simulate a corporate office (line 33) means the area

A. reflects real-life workplace situations
B. is conducive as a workplace
C. encourages vigorous training

7. From the passage, we can conclude that

A. there are many children on the autistic spectrum who needs early intervention
programmes
B. those with ASD have untapped talent and attributes that are viable for white-collar
jobs
C. those with ASD are more suited for blue-collar jobs