Citation
Klein, A. (2014), "Professional development for the drugs and alcohol workforce: why are service providers not allowing employees time to study?", Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. 14 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/DAT-11-2013-0052
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Professional development for the drugs and alcohol workforce: why are service providers not allowing employees time to study?
Article Type: Editorial From: Drugs and Alcohol Today, Volume 14, Issue 1
Professionals all along the spectrum from social care to medicine to public health have been deeply affected by the fall out of the financial crises. But few sectors can be as riddled with insecurity as the drugs and alcohol field.
Restructuring has become a permanent condition, for many job security does not extend beyond the duration of fixed term contracts and the gradual elimination of middle management has sharply reduced opportunities for upward mobility. The obsession with data collection, combined with centralised objective setting has impinged on professional autonomy of many front line workers, who are increasingly reliant on systemic solutions instead of creativity, experience and by negotiating expectations. It is therefore regrettable that so little is being done to facilitate staff mobility and the long-term progression of drug and alcohol professionals. For the majority of staff working in the field today training opportunities consist entirely of in-house training sessions, often organised on an ad hoc basis and determined by the preferences of senior management.
This forms a sharp contrast to the previous decade, when education was valued in itself and many of the large service providers were encouraging their employees to enrol at higher education institutions. Over the last two or three years most have cut such support right back. Conditions of employment are already pretty tough, with many workers putting in years of service for Spartan salaries and measly benefit packages. One way of compensating for niggardly perks and remuneration is to facilitate staff with their education.
Without employer contributions, and a sharp drop in the availability of bursaries, drug and alcohol professionals are increasingly having to resort to self-finance their studies. They do so often because educational achievements vastly enhance opportunities for career progression, one of the arguments used by the coalition government to justify the hike in university tuition fees. Yet the converse argument holds equally, in that the lack of paper qualification is used to narrow the gateway to the higher professional echelons. This is a particularly thorny problem in a field that thrives on recruiting staff with unconventional backgrounds. Indeed, for frontline workers having experience of “wilderness” years can be a tangible asset. There are many clients whom only engage with services when they find someone with whom they can empathise. It is therefore bitterly ironic that many of the most effective workers are denied first opportunities for professional advancement on the grounds of not being suitably qualified, and second, the opportunity to acquire those qualifications.
Staff development has benefits for the entire sector in terms of spreading good practice, sharing experience, spreading information and keeping professionals abreast of developments. Up-skilling is one of the accepted practices for raising productivity. At an individual level its is a huge motivator, so salient in areas where workers run risk of burn-out. Taking time out to reflect on practices and learn from the experience of others can recharge batteries and revive commitment.
Even in straitened times employers should consider carefully if this is an area for cutbacks. More importantly still, they should support staff who are self funding their education by giving time off for study days. It is one thing for workers to dig into their pockets and pay upfront hoping to recoup the benefits later on in their careers. Quite another to sacrifice family holidays and quality time when this is often all that people are left with. It is therefore odd that organisations that “believe in turning lives around” should deny their employees a few days paid leave to enhance their skill set and provide a better service for their clients. A review of training practices is urgently needed.
Axel Klein