Drug and alcohol workers, also known as substance misuse workers, play an important role in helping people to tackle their substance abuse problems. They deal with people in three broad categories of substance misuse:

• drugs (illegal, prescription and over-the-counter)
• alcohol
• solvents.

Drug and alcohol workers help clients to access services such as counselling, healthcare and education. The job can be extremely challenging but at the same time very rewarding.

There are a number of specialist job areas within the field of drug and alcohol work. These include:

• outreach work
• counselling and rehabilitation
• prison work
• drug and alcohol education
• healthcare
• advocacy
• advice, guidance and training.

Drug and alcohol workers may operate in more than one of these areas, especially in smaller organisations like charities.

Common tasks to all areas of work include risk assessments, design and delivery of training or care programmes and ongoing support for clients as they deal with their substance misuse issues.

Hours and Environment

Full-time drug and alcohol workers cover 35 to 40 hours a week. Part-time work is widely available.

Due to the nature of the job, you may work irregular and unsocial hours. On-call duties may also form part of your role.

Your workplace will depend on your job. For example, in the justice system, you will normally work in a prison or remand centre. If you work in outreach, you will travel around your district, visiting centres and schools or work in a residential rehab centre.

Skills and Interests

As a drug and alcohol worker, you need:

• the ability to work with a range of different organisations
• an understanding of the importance of sharing knowledge and information
• an understanding of substance misuse issues and its impact on individuals and society
• the ability to reflect on and develop your own practice through professional development
• an understanding of how to support clients through life changes
• the skills to design, deliver and monitor care or training programmes
• the ability to communicate and engage with vulnerable groups, including young people and children in a non-judgemental way.  

These are some of the broader skills and interests required to work in drug and alcohol support. Employers will be able to give you additional job-specific requirements for each role.

Entry

You can get into the field of drug and alcohol support work with experience from a variety of backgrounds, but the main requirement for most jobs is an aptitude for work with vulnerable clients.

Organisations often ask for between 6 months and 2 years’ experience. For example, you may have dealt with drug- or alcohol-dependent patients, as a nurse, or worked in the probation service dealing with offenders after their release. If you have been through treatment programmes, drug and alcohol organisations may be willing to consider you for this kind of work because of the insight and understanding you can bring to the role. 

You will need an enhanced Criminal Record Bureau check for most jobs. Your employer will usually apply for this as soon as they take you on. You may need a driving licence and access to a vehicle for jobs requiring travel between project centres and those that involve outreach work.

Voluntary experience
Volunteering is an excellent way to gain experience in this field, make contacts and eventually find a paid position. It not only gives the employer a chance to see your skills and motivation but it allows you to decide whether this is the career for you. Most organisations in this field offer opportunities for volunteers, which include training programmes.

You can find contacts for substance misuse organisations in your local telephone directory or by visiting Talktofrank, where you can search for organisations by postcode or town.

Related qualifications
If you have formal qualifications, you may be at an advantage for some of the main jobs in the field of drug and alcohol work. The exact requirements will depend on the role you are interested in, but relevant qualifications may include:

• diploma in counselling
• degree or diploma social work
• degree or diploma in nursing
• teaching qualifications (PGCE, Cert Ed or adult teaching certificate).

You can find details about how to gain these awards in the job profiles for Counsellor, Social Worker, Nurse and Further Education Lecturer, Skills for Life Tutor and Teacher.

For more details about working in this field, see the websites for the Federation of Drug & Alcohol Professionals (FDAP), DrugScope and Alcohol Concern (in Further Information below).

Training

Most organisations will offer you on-the-job training whether you are volunteering or in paid employment.

Your training will be based around the skills and competencies required by your particular job. It may be short sessions on a particular aspect of your role or longer formal qualifications. For example, the NVQ/SVQ Health and Social Care at levels 2, 3 and 4, contains optional units covering the substance misuse sector.

The Federation of Drug & Alcohol Professionals (FDAP) offers a range of awards and accreditation for practitioners, counsellors and managers in this area. For more information, see the FDAP website in Further Information.

These is also a number of university courses, ranging from foundation-degree level to postgraduate, covering this sector. These include:

• FdA Drug and Alcohol Counselling offered by Leicester University
• FdSc Addictions Counselling offered by Clouds (in partnership with the University of Bath)
• BSc Substance Misuse Management from Kent University
• MSc / PgDip Drug Use and Addiction Liverpool through John Moores University
• MSc Addictive Behaviours through the University of Liverpool.

Drug charities strongly recommend that you check that any academic training includes work-based placements to gain practical experience in this field.

For more details about training courses and providers, see the Training & Development section of www.drinkanddrugs.net.

Opportunities

The drug and alcohol support sector is expanding all over the UK. Around 30,000 people work directly in the field and many more work in related roles.

With experience and training, you can move between the different areas of expertise outlined in the Work section. For example, you may become a drug and alcohol counsellor after doing outreach work in the community. 

Other opportunities for progression include moving into support team supervision and management, local, regional or national services coordination and specialist intervention work.

Freelance training for charities and agencies may be another avenue to explore if you are an experienced practitioner.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Employment officers, and outreach and drop-in centre workers earn between £20,000 and £25,000.
Counsellors and specialist nursing staff can earn between £23,000 and £28,000.
Team leaders and local service managers can earn between £24,000 and £35,000 a year.

Volunteers may receive expenses such as travel costs.

Further information