Over the last five years, the Dandelion Program initiated independent research studies to review the performance and benefits of the program, across all our teams

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Over the last five years, the Dandelion Program initiated independent research studies to review the performance and benefits of the program, across all our teams.DXC_Dandelion_Program_Examples_of_Talent.pdf: 50 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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Examples of DXC Dandelion Program Trainee Talent and Value

DigitalCommons@ILR

May 23, 2019
© 2019 DXC Technology Company. All rights reserved.
Examples of DXC 
Dandelion Program 
Trainee Talent and Value
May 23, 2019 2© 2019 DXC Technology Company. All rights reserved.
CP_1137a-20
Background
The DXC Dandelion Program was piloted five years 
ago as an initiative to help establish careers for 
people on the autism spectrum. Supported by 
ongoing evidence based research, in conjunction 
with our experiences and learnings, the program has 
been focused and designed on a sustainable model, 
to create the right environment with the right support 
structure for people on the autism spectrum.
We have now established ten Dandelion 
teams across Australia, employing over 90 
people on the autism spectrum delivering key 
services to clients:
Cyber Security
Data Analytics
Software Testing
Infrastructure 
Monitoring
3rd Level 
Support
Software 
Development
May 23, 2019 3© 2019 DXC Technology Company. All rights reserved.
CP_1137a-20
Background (cont’d)
Over the last five years, the Dandelion Program 
initiated independent research studies to review 
the performance and benefits of the program, 
across all our teams. Key results from the 
research:
92% Retention 
rate
75% 
Job satisfaction
80% co-workers 
says the program does 
not add any additional 
overhead
30-40% 
Improved productivity
All Dandelion Program 
customers have 
expanded their programs 
by adding 
60-100% additional 
resources from the 
spectrum
All customers have 
retained the autistic 
resources on their 
programs of work when 
they have completed the 
program
May 23, 2019 4© 2019 DXC Technology Company. All rights reserved.
CP_1137a-20
There have also been some amazing individual and 
team success stories, some are outlined below:
One of the candidates who did not have a technical background/experience, 
participated in a DXC Dandelion Assessment. During the assessment, the 
candidates were asked to demonstrate how they could develop a program or 
methods to analyse large data sets as part of a cyber security. Given that she 
had no technical background, over a weekend she decided to research and 
teach herself to code in Python – she was not only able to complete the 
assessment but was able to demonstrate her ability to code and successfully 
complete all the exercises. She was offered a role in the program and 
continues to excel within the Dandelion program.
Within a week of commencing in the Dandelion Program one of the new cyber 
team members was able to memorise and recite a watch list of over 100 IP 
addresses. This ability makes him exceptionally productive in identifying 
incidents, he is highly regarded by his colleagues and client team members.
Implementing a second team into one of the DXC Dandelion customer sites, 
complex elements of their technical training were provided by the DXC 
Dandelion team members that have recently graduated from the program.
One of the Dandelion team members who worked in software testing but was 
able to expand the scope of his work due to his capability, won a national 
challenge – customer Secure Coding Challenge. The client arranged for him to 
fly from Brisbane to Canberra to receive the award. 
A cyber security incident queue that had an 18 month backlog was cleared 
within three months when a new Dandelion team was implemented. This is 
despite them being new trainees without prior cyber security skills.
A number of Dandelion trainees involved in testing have been able to pass the 
testing industry standard certification (ISTQB) exams within eight weeks of 
starting as new trainees without prior testing skills. More than 80% of the 
testers in the program have taken and passed ISTQB at one or more levels.
A data modeller who had no prior skills in this area is achieving greater output 
and capability than people in the same role with 15 years of experience.
A Dandelion Program trainee tester who was performing well, advised the 
customer that she would like to undertake a role in User Experience design 
which is an area where she became very quickly skilled in. This lead to her 
advocating to apply to an external company for a role that she won and is now 
solely responsible for the packaging design for all of their nationally sold baby 
health and nutrition products. We see people advocating for themselves to 
move to other roles as being successful outcomes for the DXC Dandelion 
Program.
A number of Dandelion trainees have applied for and won permanent roles 
within the public service departments and commercial customers where they 
were delivering services.  We see such outcomes as great successes for the 
program as trainees have gained skills and been able to advocate for their own 
career path. 
One of the new Dandelion cyber trainees who had less than two months 
experience overheard a conversation about a problem that had not been able 
to be resolved for many months. He advised that he knew how to resolve it and 
provided the solution the same day.
May 23, 2019 5© 2019 DXC Technology Company. All rights reserved.
CP_1137a-20
There have also been some amazing individual and 
team success stories, some are detailed below:(Cont’d)
One of the Dandelion test teams had been able to deliver a package of work 
within five days – where the customer estimated six weeks work.
Within two months of starting as untrained resources several Dandelion 
trainees became technically competent and productive to a level that enabled 
them to be placed into independent customer projects/teams under customer 
management. Within two years the entire team of 11 Dandelion trainees were 
outplaced and recognized by the customer as providing the highest quality of 
work, output and performance. 
Innovation and tools designed and developed by Dandelion trainees have been 
implemented across customer departments to streamline how the department 
works. Some of these innovations were developed and adopted within three 
months of commencement as untrained resources.
The program has provided independence to many Dandelion team members. 
They have had the confidence and financial ability to move out of home (some 
renting, some buying homes, some have built new homes). A number have got 
married and have also started families. 
All customers have reported high levels of productivity, performance, quality 
and innovation from their Dandelion teams.
Programs that have graduated at the end of their three year tenure have had 
the team members renewed under contracts from DXC to continue to deliver 
important services for their organisations.
A Dandelion team member was asked by the customer he works for to create 
a checklist which would further improve the quality of testing practices. 
He recognised a need to take this task to the next level and created a Testing 
Standards Procedure document which is has been adopted by the customer 
and rolled out across the organisation as standard practice for 
Quality Assurance.
Within 12 months in the cyber space trainees have gained GIAC Reverse 
Engineering Malware certification (GREM), GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner 
(GCFE), certification as GIAC certified professionals (Cyber security 
certification body). GIAC Certifications are highly regarded certifications within 
the cyber security field globally and are aligned with SANS.
© 2019 DXC Technology Company. All rights reserved.


https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&amp;context=dandelionprogram

Examples of DXC Dandelion Program Trainee Talent and Value

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