Passwerk was founded on 13 February 2008 and so you could read in our previous Passmap that we are celebrating our fifteenth anniversary this year. A good time to look back.
In the first issue of our Pass folder, our 'mission statement' appeared. It seems like it was written yesterday. Only today, we would replace 'autism spectrum disorder' with 'autism spectrum profile' and add our services of software development, business intelligence and cyber security.
Mission Statement
“The purpose of Passwerk is to guide, judging by their specific qualities and within their ability, people with an autism spectrum disorder and normal intelligence to fitting, regular employment and to effectively employ them within the areas of expertise they perform excellently in. Passwerk’s starting point is that every individual has the right to full participation in the normal economic circuit, considering the individual’s competencies.
Passwerk thinks that integration and full integration in society should be evident. Passwerk will do everything in its power so that its employees can take on a rightful place in the economic society.
Passwerk offers excellent services within the framework of software testing. Passwerk is appreciated by its customers mostly for the quality (accuracy, thoroughness, correctness) of the tests.”
In the second issue of our Passmap, it read:
“Passwerk can become a positive idea for the future for many people. The trend is set!” The trend is definitely set, but there is still work to be done to realise optimal inclusion.
A few milestones
February 2008: On the 13th of February, the last paperwork was signed and Passwerk (www.passwerk.be) is born.
Spring 2008: The first assessment took place from which the first four consultants are selected.
May 2008: We held our first press conference.
September 2008: We organised the first teambuilding activity: we go bowling together. Other activities follow over the years: going to the cinema together, participating in a 'murder game', city walks, New Year's receptions, BBQ, Cirque du Soleil, Passwerk cafés and after-work parties.
January 2009: We moved from the offices of De Ploeg (now Emino) in Brasschaat to Potvlietlaan in Berchem. In April 2017, we move to our current offices in Posthofbrug.
February 2009: We won our first award, a diversity award. Other awards followed, such as 'runner-up prize social entrepreneurship', 'Employment for all audience award', 'Social Innovation Award', 'Innovative Practice 2021 on Inclusive Employment and ICT', 'Trends Gazelle 2021' and the DataNews award 'the most sustainable ICT company of the year' in 2023.
May 2009: The first advisory committee met. That advisory committee had 16 members. Currently, there are 19. Over the years, 63 members have served on the committee.
March 2010: King Albert II and Queen Paola came to visit. Later, we also welcomed Flemish minister Freya Van den Bossche, federal Minister Alexander De Croo, federal deputy prime minister Petra De Sutter and federal minister Karine Lalieux.
June 2010: Money was donated for the first time as part of our profit allocation. This was initially a decision of our General Assembly, but in February 2012, on our initiative, the 'ICT Community for ASD' fund (www.ictforasd.be) was set up as part of the King Baudouin Foundation. In total, Passwerk has supported 77 projects for a total amount of €556,471. Besides this, additional initiatives are financially supported, such as Villa Max (www.vzwvillamax.be).
December 2011: Auticon (www.auticon.com) was founded in Berlin. Currently, the organisation is active in 14 countries. Both with Auticon in Germany and with other initiatives elsewhere in the world, our knowledge, experience, tools, etc. are shared. From Belgium, we inspire companies in Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea and Switzerland. We are also a co-founder of Neurowrx (www.neurowrx.org), an association promoting the employment of people with autism in STEAM professions.
November 2013: The first Passwerk Prize was awarded to Marijke Kinnaer for her master's thesis as a master's student in architecture at KU Leuven. Meanwhile, we have already awarded ten Passwerk prizes.
April 2014: Passwerk organised an international exchange on the employment of people with autism in the United States and Europe. In 2022, Passwerk hosts the international exchange organised by Neurowrx in Berchem.
Autumn 2014: Our Hasselt office opened its doors. We opened an office in Roeselare in April 2018 and one in Brussels in February 2019.
February 2016: TRplus was founded. Within TRplus, the services in addition to software testing and support processes are further expanded. In the meantime, more than 35 consultants work here.
November 2017: The presentation of the first Passwerk Lifetime Achievement Award to Kristiene Reyniers of Ergasia took place. So far, we have already honoured seven deserving individuals.
April 2018: The partnership with security company G4S was launched. With our support, they recruit more than 10 people with autism, train them as security officers and deploy them as x-ray screeners at Zaventem airport.
May 2019: The first 'charity golf event' to benefit the 'ICT Community for ASD' fund took place.
May 2020: From then on, our Passmap is also published in French.
October 2021: Passwerk became a shareholder of Lichtwerk (https://lichtwerk.io/en).
September 2022: The first four SOC Level 1 analysts completed their training and can be deployed for cyber security activities.
Social commitment
Our aim is to help as many people with autism as possible find work in the regular employment circuit. We do this by creating jobs ourselves, but also by inspiring other companies worldwide and sharing our knowledge.
As mentioned above, we set up the 'ICT Community for ASD' fund in the lap of the King Baudouin Foundation. Part of our profits serve to provide this fund with financial resources to support projects.
Today, we are a beacon of hope for numerous people with autism and their families by finding them a possible job, but also as a point of contact for advice on all kinds of topics.
At the same time, various mandates and roles are taken up in organisations with added social value, such as:
Guidance committee 'persons with disabilities' (King Baudouin Foundation) (https://kbs-frb.be/nl)
De Lift Education (www.delifteducation.com)
Detail (https://oogvoordetail.be)
Ergasia (www.ergasia.be)
HelpInAut (www.helpinaut.be)
LAVA – Lees- en Adviesgroep Volwassenen met Autisme (www.lavavzw.be)
Villa Max (www.vzwvillamax.be/)
In addition to the many presentations we gave in Belgium about our model, autism, talents of people with autism, etc., we were also present as speakers at foreign conferences in, for example, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy and Turkey.
Our logo
Passwerk evolved over the years and our logo evolved with it.
What does it represent?
A brain, a maze, and a fingerprint. The image of a brain primarily refers to the specific way in which people with autism think and look at the world. It also refers to how Passwerk perfectly matches these unique characteristics and talents to its services.
If you take a second look at the logo, you can also recognise a maze in the interplay of lines. The path one must try to find in a maze symbolises the typical challenges people with an autism spectrum profile face on a daily basis.
Finally, the fingerprint symbolises the uniqueness of each person with an autism spectrum profile. Combined with the (colour) differences between the two halves, the special abilities of Passwerk's consultants are highlighted.
In figures
556K | euros of financial support were awarded to various projects contributing to the well-being of people with autism. |
280+ | different clients have worked with Passwerk. |
185+ | consultants with autism have been deployed for software testing, support processes or software development, business intelligence or cyber security. |
82 | different CIOs and CEOs in total have already been part of our advisory committee. |
50+ | client testimonials were made about our cooperation. |
25 | female consultants work at Passwerk and TRplus. |
11.5 | million euros was the joint turnover figure for Passwerk and TRplus in 2022. |
10 | is the number of memberships Passwerk has with networking organisations. |
2 | times a year we meet with the 'friends of Passwerk'. These are the members of the steering committee that helped establish Passwerk at the time. |