The Precisionists, Inc. (TPI), a Wilmington, Delaware-based company that creates jobs for individuals across a broad range of disabilities, announces the opening of its Innovation & Technology Center (ITC) in Phoenix, AZ. The announcement comes just two years after it announced its expansion to the market as a part of the “Phoenix Precision Project,” and further solidifies TPI’s commitment to provide jobs for hundreds of local adults with autism and other different abilities over the next three to five years. The ITC is located at 4646 Van Buren Street, Suite 185, Phoenix, AZ 85008.
TPI’s Phoenix Precision Project, launched in February 2019 in collaboration with Governor Doug Ducey, Salt River Project (SRP), the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) and First Place® AZ, is a community-based model, in which The Precisionists is focused on creating more employment opportunities for adults with autism and other neurodiversities.
“Establishing the ITC-AZ in Phoenix enables us to further expand job opportunities for neurodiverse adults seeking to start or grow their careers,” says Ernie Dianastasis, CEO of The Precisionists. “At the ITC, we will perform both project-based work for our client partners, as well as assess, train and prepare our candidates for employment with us.”
“As the ‘most autism-friendly city in the world,’ it is essential that we continue to attract innovative companies, like The Precisionists, and help them expand,” says Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “We are pleased TPI is growing to include Phoenix where we promote inclusion, celebrate diversity, and take pride in being able to offer opportunities as well as a highly supportive community.”
First Place AZ, a nonprofit real estate and community developer, led the recruitment of The Precisionists to the Valley. The company now has Innovation & Technology Centers located in Wilmington, DE, Nashville, TN and Phoenix, AZ. During 2020, the company grew by more than 30%.
“The Precisionists continues demonstrating its resiliency and enabling more people with autism to live more independent lives. Several of our First Place–Phoenix residents and former Transition Academy students have been hired by the company. With their full-time jobs and independent living skills learned at First Place, they are experiencing very full lives in our very supportive community,” says Denise D. Resnik, Founder and President/CEO of First Place AZ and Co-Founder of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC). “We expect TPI will continue finding great talent and eager employees through community connectors like First Place and SARRC.”
SRP, a charter member of the Phoenix Precision Project, has been utilizing The Precisionists’ innovative disability employment model in a number of areas, including IT and administrative services.
“Since starting our pilot in October 2018, we have found the opportunity to partner with TPI to be invaluable as we provide meaningful employment and fill an important work need within our organization,” says Mike Hummel, SRP General Manager and CEO. “Our partnership with TPI is one way SRP is achieving a diverse team to build a better company and continue to be a stronger community partner. We are pleased to have the distinction of SRP’s Records Management Project being the first to be conducted in TPI’s new Innovation & Technology Center.”
When properly assessed, trained and employed, people with autism and other developmental disabilities are high-performing in critical and challenging jobs, such as administrative business functions, software testing and data analytics,” says Dianastasis. “Considering that 75 to 80 percent of people with autism in the country are either unemployed or underemployed, we are making a true difference in engaging a significant, untapped and high-performing labor force right here in the Greater Phoenix area. I am thrilled to be working with innovative and pioneering organizations like Salt River Project, Cox Communications and the State of Arizona.”
The Precisionists assesses, trains and employs neurodiverse adults to carry out project-based work, including software development, software testing, database analytics, cybersecurity, back-office accounting, data entry and auditing reports. Until now, these tasks were performed on-site at client locations throughout the Phoenix area. The ITC will now allow client’s the option of having The Precisionists perform its work for them either in the customer environment or in TPI’s environment.
The opening of TPI’s Innovation & Technology Center provides greater opportunity for these projects to expand and grow the business with new clients and further provide employment opportunities for autistic adults. The ITC’s office space is convenient to public transportation, and located in a professional office complex well suited to cater to TPI’s additional space needs as it continues to grow.
With the opening of its new ITC, the Precisionists expects steady growth, as it has experienced in the other markets it serves. TPI plans to create more than 500 Arizona jobs for adults with autism and other special abilities within the next three to five years. It has already created over 50 jobs in Arizona.
Individuals with disabilities interested in applying for a job should visit https://theprecisionists.com/careers/.
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