The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), Workforce Development Division, is working with a variety of key stakeholders from across the country to develop a set of core competencies for Canada's substance abuse professionals that would ultimately serve to
- Enhance professionalism within the field by supporting the adoption of evidence-informed practice;
- Support the hiring and retention of the right people, with the right skills at the right time; and
- Develop strategies for learning and development that will equip the field for excellence now, and in the future.
Phase One of this initiative involved the identification and comparative analysis of existing and developing Canadian and international addictions workforce competencies and the subsequent development of a set of core national competencies for Canada's addictions workforce.
Phase Two of the project involved a two-day interactive workshop with members of the National Advisory Group on Workforce Development (NAGWD) to gather feedback on the preliminary draft of core competencies.
Phase Three of the project sought to engage with members of the field at a broad level to further refine and validate the Core Competencies for Canada's Substance Abuse Professionals draft report. Several organizations in the field took it upon themselves to facilitate focus groups and informal discussions across the country. In-depth interviews, email communication and the development of a blog were also used to gather additional feedback.>
CCSA would like to thank members of the field who took the time to review and submit their feedback on the core competencies document. The insightful comments put forth by the field will assist in the development of core competencies that are truly reflective of the skills, knowledge and expertise used when delivering services to people affected by substance use problems.
CCSA is currently reviewing the collection of comments submitted by the field and the updated version of the document will be posted on this site as soon as it becomes available
Once the Core Competencies document is finalized, a presentation will be made to the Canadian Executive Council on Addictions (CECA), senior officials within provincial and territorial governments, and the academic community; all of these groups will be asked for their endorsement. Future applications of the competencies document may include curriculum development by colleges and universities, strategic workforce planning by service-providing organizations and linkages to certification bodies.
If you have any questions or comments, or would like to learn more about the core competency project, please contact Karen Cumberland at competencies@ccsa.ca or 613-235-4048, ext. 234.