CRANBERRY TWP — Twenty people may not sound like a lot for a job fair.

But to Brian Kluchurosky and his type of job fair, 20 was a sizeable number.

Kluchurosky, executive vice president of Progress City, a nonprofit helping people with autism find gainful employment, spoke individually with each of the nearly two dozen attendees at the nonprofit's three-hour-long job fair Wednesday at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center.

The job fair was minimally advertised, he said, which led him to see the attendance as a success.

The goal behind that specific fair — and Progress City as a whole — is to help bring people on the autism spectrum into the workforce. Kluchurosky said 85 percent of people afflicted with the disorder are either unemployed or underemployed.

“I think that 85 percent really hits home when you come into this and see, 'Oh my God, that's a lot of people who really want to work,'” he said. “There are not a lot of programs for adults with autism, and especially not for employment, so this can help.”

About one in every 68 people in the United States has been diagnosed with autism. Kluchurosky said 50,000 people with autism enter adulthood every year, and of that number 42,500 of them are under- or unemployed.

“There's a lot of stigma and stereotypes out there about autism,” Kluchurosky said.

At fairs like the one Wednesday in Cranberry, individuals on the spectrum enter a room and speak with Kluchurosky. He then tells them about the program, which includes evaluation for employment and placement with a network of five employers.

The first step following the job fair is for an applicant to take an assessment on their work interest, to ensure they're willing and able to work and searching for work. Applicants can take this assessment via video, by typing or on a phone call.

Following that, Progress City works to assess the career development of an applicant, gauging their backgrounds and preferences in employment, as well as any possible limitations. One example offered by Kluchurosky was if a person expressed interest in a maintenance position, but noted that outdoor maintenance — and the fluctuating temperatures that come with it — limited a person's ability to complete the job.

The third step is for applicants to complete work in a real-world environment at a store in Monroeville. There, six skills, including punctuality, time management and interpersonal skills, are tested and developed.

“We want to get to where all six factors are green-lit,” Kluchurosky said. “As long as they stay willing, able and searching, we'll get them there.”

Those three forms of motivation are not rare in people on the spectrum, Kluchurosky said. Though many of them are under- or unemployed, he said, many are also routine-oriented or task-driven workers.

“What you have in them is a highly dedicated worker,” Kluchurosky said. “That is really what an employer is after.”

Progress City also works with employers to provide training and help on how best to work with people with autism. He said the program sends, along with an employee who successfully completes its base program, a list on how best to work with them and help them improve. As an example, he said, an employee may not make eye contact as well as others; that doesn't mean he or she isn't paying attention.

He said one shining example of the program's success is a man who went through the system and found employment with a manufacturer in Homestead. After some work, the employer told him they were looking to promote him to a full-time position.

“Because of the value and the dedication he brought to the company,” Kluchurosky added. “And that, to me, is how it's supposed to be. It didn't come because of his autism, it came because a company was able to see past the stigma and apply diverse methods.”