Sustaining Workforce Development

Frontline workers in the field of prevention and treatment have particularly difficult and stressful jobs. In territorial and northern communities, where "burnout" rates are highest, this factor increases considerably. Hence, a significant influx of resources is needed to deal with outreach, treatment and aftercare to cover expenses related to the remoteness of northern communities. The need to recruit and retain care workers – and to support their professional development – is crucial, especially if holistic and culturally relevant programs are to be designed and delivered effectively.

Across Canada the need for collaborative action by key stakeholders in the field – including government, academia, regional addiction organizations, non-profit, and private sectors – is required to help ensure ongoing availability of appropriately trained workers at all levels. Necessary actions identified to date include: establishing national standards and competencies to enhance knowledge and skills; developing education and training curricula which promote effective practices; promoting professionalism of the workforce through a range of mechanisms such as websites, national conferences and advanced learning institutes; taking measures that ensure as diverse a workforce as possible; and, conducting research on the workforce to support knowledge transfer.

Update

In parallel with the development of the National Framework, a survey of executives and staff of specialized substance abuse treatment agencies and services was conducted. The purposes were to explore issues related to workforce development: staff training, recruitment and retention; professional development; and, support for service enhancement mechanisms. A secondary purpose was to assess the influence of a number of best practice reports published by Health Canada. The resulting Optimizing Canada's Addiction Treatment Workforce: Results of a National Survey of Service Providers (PDF), published in 2005, helped inform a Workforce Development Workshop, hosted by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse on March 23-24, 2005.

Workshop Objectives: review the issues and challenges related to the development of the workforce dedicated to addictions treatment; validate priorities for workforce development; develop strategies to professionalize this workforce and to support its ongoing development. The Key Messages Report for the National Thematic Workshop on Workforce Development - (NAGWD) provided recommendations for future activities.

Subsequently, on February 8-9, 2006, the National Advisory Group on Workforce Development, including representatives from a wide range of organizations involved in substance abuse and/or workforce development, met to address next steps for formalizing a national Workforce Development strategy.