Specialisterne founder  Thorkil Sonne (right) who began working with autism organisations and quickly realised many teenagers with autism had skills such as insight, precision and consistency highly prized for software testing and other forms of quality control.

With 40 employees at present and a turnover of £2m Thorkill hopes to create one million jobs by replicating the project worldwide. The Scottish venture has been set up with £700,000 funding, including a £500,000 loan from the Scottish Government’s Scottish Investment Fund, £407,000 from the Big Lottery Fund and £30,000 from Glasgow City Council.

Kevin Smith, a business adviser with Community Enterprise in Scotland, which developed  the Scottish venture, said many people with autism were highly skilled. Much of the work will involve finding system flaws by carrying out repeated software tests.

“It goes back to the characteristics of autism in terms of consistency, attention to detail. There isn’t that loss of interest or distraction, which means that the 12th repetition should be as accurate as the first repetition. (Non-autistic) would probably lose interest after five.”

A total of 61 people, including 50 with autism, are expected to be employed by Specialisterne Scotland by 2015 and its projected turnover by then is put at £1.6m.

Carol Evans, national director for the National Autistic Society Scotland, said: “Many (adults with autism) tell us they want to work. They are qualified and they make exceptional employees.

“Specialisterne Scotland will give people with autism the opportunity to use and develop their special skills based on their own qualifications, strengths and ambitions and make an equal contribution to society.”

Figures show that only 13% of adults with autism are in full-time employment in Scotland, but the new project aims to tap into the insight, attention to detail and desire for consistency that are common traits in people with autism.