We've recently started a project called Recovery Support Tayside, jointly with CAIR Scotland, to help bridge the gap between treatment for drug and alcohol problems and the wider community in Tayside. Figure 8 will take a workforce development role ensuring that staff in all agencies (both specialist and mainstream, such as housing or health) across Tayside understand the process of recovery and the impact their activities can have on it. We want to hear from anyone in the Tayside community who thinks their group, business or organisation would like to support the project. Interested? contact us on 01382 224 846 or enquiries@f8c.co.uk.  

Figure 8 firmly believes that addiction services require well-trained, well-supported and highly-valued staff capable of meeting the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in society.

This view is support by the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse which believes that the effective provision of substance misuse treatment is ‘wholly dependent on having a competent, supported workforce able to deliver all relevant interventions’ (Essential Care, SACDM, 2008, p14) and features as a priority in the Scottish Government’s Drugs Strategy, “The Road to Recovery” (Scottish Government, 2008, p61).

Service users expect and deserve high quality treatment services that are reliable and able to respond to their individual needs based on evidence of best practice. That is why Figure 8 promotes ‘Evidence into Practice’ as its key mission statement based on the philosophy that the policy and planning cycle of government and commissioning bodies requires to inform, and be informed by, the practice and audit cycle of service providers in a continuous figure of 8. Therefore, based on evidence of best practice in workforce development, Figure 8 aims to assist the development of a competent, confident and valued workforce by providing guidance, training and support on workforce development issues for workers, managers and commissioners.

Figure 8 is passionate about equipping those who work in the substance misuse field with the skills, knowledge, understanding and support they require to deliver what is expected of them, and offers management development and mentoring programmes tailored to the needs of services. In addition, ‘training the trainer’ programmes are an integral option within Figure 8’s workforce development packages to enable organisations to nurture quality learning from within.

Figure 8 is also experienced in conducting comprehensive service evaluations with the aim of providing independent evidence and comment regarding the work undertaken by services and their current human resource management and human resource development strategies, policies and plans.

"Alcohol-related absence costs British industry over £2 billion a year"

We are currently developing some products to help businesses who may be affected by alcohol and drug misuse be proactive and avoid the costs which can result from such misuse - for our information leaflet or to find out more contact us.