Print version Recommend this page Press release
18/ 2007
Bonn, 05.04.2007
"Alcohol and drugs during training - what can companies do?" - A BIBB CD-ROM illustrates facts and projects
"Eventually, I ended up sitting in my boss's office, and he said to me: 'I think it's time we grasped the nettle...' The very same day, I went home, thought everything through and put my name down for de-tox", says Sebastian S., relating how the alcohol and drug problems he experienced during training increasingly led to conflict within his company. But what can company and training staff do to help young people who are affected in this way and, better still, what preventative measures can they take? The answers are supplied in the form of a new CD-Rom issued by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) entitled "Focus on addictive behaviour in training", which also contains the interview with Sebastian in its introductory section.
In the world of work, addictive problems such as alcohol dependency or the illegal consumption of drugs play a much greater role than imagined. For those affected and their families, every case represents an individual tragedy. But the costs for the economy and society are also high. Alcohol problems are the most common cause of absenteeism, dips in performance and accidents at work. Trainees are also increasingly falling victim, the frequency of alcohol abuse being 10% even amongst 14 to 24-year olds. 16 % of pupils at vocational schools consume illegal drugs, 22% of those aged between 13 and 25 even taking more than one addictive substance. And: the age of initiation is falling. The above are some of the core statements to emerge from the BIBB research project "Addiction prevention and qu@lification", the results of which are summarised on the CD-ROM.
The chapter "Prevention and best practice" features reports from experts working in the field of addiction prevention and intervention on their everyday dealings with trainees, the young people themselves also being given a say. The main focus is on such issues as the following. Which strategies have proved to be effective? What special circumstances apply when dealing with young people? What can and what should companies be expected to do?
As far as the latter point is concerned, workshops conducted by BIBB have demonstrated that companies exert an important and individually therapeutic significance. The fact that there is scarcely a more suitable area than the workplace to conduct sustainable and effective prevention work makes addiction prevention a "must" for companies. Although training staff are assigned a key role in all of this, labour-management agreements are no less an important part of the process.
The chapter "Background and research"" provides a summary of the results of the investigations and studies conducted, of the papers and analyses prepared within the scope of the BIBB research project and of the workshops.
Further light is shed on the significance of the drugs problem during training and amongst young employees from a range of academic research perspectives. There is also an "Archive", containing all interviews in full, reports, papers and documents, the last named providing sample labour-management agreements, for example.
Further information in English is available on the BIBB website at http://www.bibb.de/en/23581.htm
The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) is making the CD-ROM available free of charge via its partner publishing house Christiani.
Dr. Ing. Paul Christiani GmbH & Co. KG
Technisches Institut für Aus- und Weiterbildung
Hermann-Hesse-Weg 2
78464 Konstanz
Tel.: 07531 / 5801-26
Fax: 07531 / 5801-85
E-Mail: info@christiani.de
Internet: http://www.christiani.de/
Point of contact at BIBB for further information and enquiries:
Ulrich Degen, Tel.: 0228 / 107-1016, E-Mail: degen@bibb.de
Werner Gerwin, Tel.: 0228 / 107-1417, E-Mail: gerwin@bibb.de
