Whether you are coming from the business, education, or social enterprise sector, it is clear that being a disability inclusive employer is how to take your organisation to the next level.

15% of the global population has disabilities (World Bank, 2021)

50-70% of people with disabilities in developed countries are unemployed while more than 80-90% in developing countries are unemployed (UN, 2015)

If people with disabilities were included in the workplace the GDP would create between
$1.37-$1.97 trillion annually (ILO, 2018).

Creating a diverse workforce is not just another KPI, it is creating value for your employees through engagement, passion, and dedication. Build a story for your organisation that every single employee will be proud to tell.

At Steps, we want to help your organisation be at the forefront of disability inclusive practices and will help you every step of the way.

Businesses should be leaders in modelling an inclusive eco-system. If inclusive practices are modelled in businesses, you will be representing all your stakeholders and contributing to the diversity and inclusion narrative. We offer 3 key services to businesses:

Diagnostic for Business

We offer customised solutions for businesses looking to begin or enhance their inclusion journey. Our diagnostic tool looks through the lens of personnel, organisational, cultural, and implementation.

1. Inclusion diagnostic covering 8 key domains
2. Visual representation of your organisation from an inclusion standpoint
3. Actionable recommendations

Inclusive Accreditation

For businesses looking to go beyond our diagnostic, our disability inclusion accreditation provides a roadmap that drives your business forward:

1. Inclusive practice standards in 8 domains to strive for as a pathway to becoming accredited by an external body
2. Implementation support and mentorship
3. Recognition as a Disability Inclusive Organisation

Steps to Work Pathways

Steps is able to create bespoke training programs for businesses to prepare themselves to employ individuals with disabilities. At the same time, creating co-developed, branded training modules to prepare the employees for the workplace.

Demonstration Locations

Neurodivergent friendly workplaces are modelled within a business and become touchstones for the general public.

Schools are important contributors to the inclusive eco-system. If inclusion is modelled at schools, we are preparing all students for the diverse workplaces they will later work within or create themselves. We offer 4 key services to schools:

Diagnostic for Schools

We know schools believe in inclusion and want to integrate inclusive values school-wide. Our expertise can help schools to:

1. Identify areas in which the school already knows they’d like to work on.
2. Gather and review inclusion documentation, evidence of implementation, and follow up with systematic and targeted interviews.
3. Visual representation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.
4. Concrete recommendations for improvements including professional development from some of the worldwide leaders in the field.

Disability Inclusion Accreditation

For schools or education settings with a long-term commitment to inclusive practice school-wide, we provide an accreditation process:

1. Application process to identify the current status of inclusive practices.
2. Introduction to the 7 domains of inclusive practices and training on the accreditation process.
3. Self-evaluation process conducted by the school’s internal appraisal team.
4. Two onsite visits will be carried out with one near the beginning of the cycle and another towards the end.
5. Direct feedback and assistance in creating a sound growth plan and a final visit to verify evidence of growth.

Steps to Work Toolkit

Sustainable and meaningful employment should be the goal for all individuals, not just those that can graduate from traditional methods of schooling. We have spent our professional careers trying to find a solution that could enable not only one setting, but a setting anywhere in the world to have great outcomes. 

We believe that partnerships between educators and employers can change the outcomes offered to the neurodivergent community. We have tried, tested, tested again, and replicated a model that demonstrates it is possible. To that end, we have created a toolkit that any school can use to set up meaningful programs to build workplace readiness.

The toolkit includes:

1. Self Evaluation & Action Plan to explore your organisation’s readiness and plan for the future
2. The inclusive employment model created and perfected by the Steps team since 2016
3. Models and diagrams to help your organisation set up the physical space needed to keep sensory and communication needs in mind
4. How to build, generate leads, and vet potential employment partners in the community
5. Training for job coaches and partners in the work readiness and work placement settings    

Demonstration locations

Visit one of our demonstration locations as part of our consultancy model to help schools create both internal and external work opportunities for their student body. Our neurodivergent friendly workplaces models are sustainable and become touchstones for the school and the general public.

Social projects are the drivers for change and the models society needs to learn from. We support social projects by:

Diagnostic for Social Enterprises

We see social projects as our partners in creating a truly inclusion society and having founded several successful social projects, we understand the challenges. Our expertise can help social projects to:

1. Identify areas in which the organisation already knows they’d like to work on.
2. Gather and review inclusion documentation, evidence of implementation, and follow up with systematic and targeted interviews.
3. Visual representation of the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.
4. Concrete recommendations for improvements including professional development from some of the worldwide leaders in the field.

Demonstration locations

Visit one of our demonstration locations as part of our consultancy model to help social projects create both internal and external work opportunities for their neurodivergent employees. Our inclusive workplace models are sustainable, creating meaningful and measurable outcomes, and become touchstones for the general public.

Mission Statement

To empower employers and educators to realise and embrace the potential of neurodivergent people – as students, employees, as customers and as part of their community, so that together we can create a more inclusive world.

Vision Statement

An inclusive society which is truly representative of all and neurodivergent people are seen, heard, valued, respected and empowered.

Max Simpson, Founder and CEO has been working with the neurodivergent community for over 15 years, and the longer they work alongside this community, the more evidence they have that they are value-adding employees to any business.

Max has successfully modelled 11 inclusive and sustainable social businesses including coffee shops, bakeries, eco shops, and a business service centre. Max believes strongly in demonstrating the sustainability of inclusive businesses in order to change the narrative around disability, and to empower the business community to replicate these models.

In 2019, Max was listed as one of the top 50 young leaders shaping the future of Asia.  In 2021, Steps was honoured with the International Provision of the Year Award by the prestigious National Association for Special Educational Needs (UK). Max also sits on the board of the Special Education Network and Inclusion Association.

There is a global need for a change in employment outcomes, and Max founded Steps in 2016 to meet that need.

Our Team

Pear Chainares, Inclusive Employment Specialist, works closely with our business partners to consult on systems and processes that are both meaningful for the company and accessible for the neurodivergent community. Pear also provides training and mentorship to companies beginning their inclusion journey.