ADFACT (Alcohol and Drug Foundation Australian Capital Territory Inc.)

The Workskills and Training Programs provided by ADFACT include accredited training programs for clients, staff and the wider community.

ADFACT is a partner with the Odyssey Institute of Studies in Workskills Recognition and Training, an RTO to provide training opportunities in alcohol and other drug-related issues, including mental health and co-morbidity.

In 2004, ADFACT joined in partnership with the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) to provide work-based training for staff in the Certificate IV in Alcohol and other Drug Work. Sixteen staff members from ADFACT and other AOD agencies (both Governement and Non-Government) completed their course and graduated.

In 2006-2007 some of these ADFACT graduates then went on to complete their Diploma in AOD Work, again in partnership with CIT.

In 2008, ADFACT in partnership with the Odyssey Institute of Studies is providing further opportunites to the sector to upskill and gain accredited qualifications in AOD work.

Research has shown that the most effective treatment programs for substance dependency are those which include training in stress management and self-control, social and negotiation skills, job skills, and work habits. The most successful evaluated program for hospitalised, alcohol-dependent clients is the community reinforcement approach, which systematically trains clients in job and marital skills while arranging a work and home environment that sustains and rewards sobriety. This social and behavioural approach is more common in drug treatment, and particularly in therapeutic communities.

Employment appears frequently in the literature as an outcome criterion for substance users in treatment, and most clinicians subscribe to the belief that work plays an important role in recovery from dependency. Despite the importance attached to employment, many treatment modalities have not been shown to be effective in increasing client employment after treatment.

ADFACT is changing this through the continuation of accredited training programs for clients while they are undertaking rehabilitation within ADFACT programs. Clients entering the Karralika Therapeutic Community (Karralika Adult and Karralika Family Programs) and The Nexus Program, which focuses on after-care and continuing care services, are able to undertake training in accredited courses in hospitality and horticulture . Opportunities for training in Business Skills and Community Services (focusing on AOD work) are also provided.

The ADFACT Workskills and Job Training Program assists in addressing one of the underlying causes of substance use and repeated relapse – lack of, or low, employment skills. This is part of a holistic approach to drug treatment, which includes individual and group counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, creative therapies, parenting skills, relapse prevention and stress management and relationship counselling.

As part of our commitment to the development of future job training and employment skills, we have developed a program in association with the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Odyssey Institute of Studies to deliver accredited programs. Some subjects are delivered at Karralika and others are delivered off site at CIT. CIT is the TAFE provider in the ACT. This means that the training clients receive is nationally accredited, and recognised throughout Australia.

The training is competency-based, and at the completion of each competency participants receive a Statement of Attainment for that subject. The Statements of Attainment are the same as those awarded by TAFE or another training provider in the ACT or interstate. It also means that as participants gain statements of attainment for competencies in various courses, these will gradually build on each other to provide a full certificated qualification. It is therefore possible for clients to leave Karralika or The Nexus Program with a Certificate II in Horticulture and/or a Certificate I or II in Hospitality, as well as competencies towards a Certificate II in Community Services and Business Skills.

The Statements of Attainment and the certificates are issued in the name of CIT or Workskills Recognition and Training (Odyssey Institute of Studies). Therefore, once clients leave Karralika they are able to use these awards as part of a job application or to assist them to undertake further education and training at CIT or another TAFE provider interstate or as part of their application to university.