A FLEDGLING firm offering IT training to autistic people has turned to the internet to fund its next venture, saying employers are “missing a trick”.

Switch IT Training and Consultancy, based in Headington, was launched last year as a means of helping young people with autism find work.

Now the charity is looking for a classroom space to call its own, and is enlisting the help of the general public to raise £10,000 for rent and running costs.

Director and tutor Ryan Evans said: “Nationally, only 15 per cent of adults with autism are in full-time employment. To me, that’s a shocking statistic.

“I worked at Swalcliffe Park special school, near Banbury, for seven-and-a-half years as an IT technician but also tutoring pupils. It’s an amazing school. But when the young people leave school at 18 there’s nothing else for them.

“College or university isn’t suitable, so they have nowhere to go.”

If a premises is secured, new students would be trained and prepared for a CompTIA A+ qualification, a high-level certification recognised by the technical industry.

Mr Evans, 33, from Banbury, has created an adapted version of the course to cater for the needs of autistic learners. He added the decision to raise cash through crowdfunding, where people make lots of small donations online to help a cause reach its target, was a last resort.

“We went to the Department for Work and Pensions and the local authority but came to a dead end. We thought we would try this,” he explained.

Earlier this month, a study by the University of Stirling of 312 people revealed a link between autism and improved levels of creativity and original thought.

Mr Evans added: “There are companies in Denmark and Germany that are employing only autistic people, for their different skill set.

“We’re missing a trick.”

Switch was originally set up to find employment opportunities for one young man, the 20-year-old son of co-director Jill Hunt.

Mrs Hunt, 49, has been a full-time carer for her son for about nine years.

She said: “He has been lucky to have this opportunity; we should be doing the same for others.”

Switch’s crowdfunding campaign is open for 14 more days.

To donate, visit crowdfunding.

justgiving.com/switch-it