Our Workforce

welcome to the AOD Provider Collaborative's website!

We hope you find the information and resources that are available here useful for your work, study or continuing professional development.

We encourage you to explore the site and find out more about our projects and other resources. To get you started, we've picked out some highlights that we believe will be of interest to the AOD workforce below:

ACCESSING AOD SERVICES:

• Our Service Map is a useful guide to help clients and their family/whānau determine the most appropriate service for their needs.
• The AOD Provider Collaborative is made up of 16 organisations working within the alcohol and other drug sector in Counties Manukau.  Visit the Membership page for a list of members and their websites.
• For a quick overview of our work priorities, visit What we do, or download a copy of our brochure.

UNDERSTANDING THE SECTOR BETTER:

We undertake research so that we can better understand the needs of our clients and help AOD service providers in their workforce and service development efforts.

In additon to our own research, we also seek to disseminate the work of other researchers who are examining critical issues in the AOD sector in New Zealand. Research of interest to the AOD workforce includes:

• Reducing stigma towards AOD service users: The Collaborative has commissioned research to find out more about local experiences of stigma, as well as current approaches to addressing structural stigma for service users and their families/whānau.
• Aftercare, or continuing care, for AOD service users: To help identify strategies to engage and re-engage consumers in their recovery journey, we commissioned research in 2012 that engaged users and service providers in Counties Manukau and also reviewed current literature and best practice from New Zealand and internationally.
• AOD research in the Pacific and within Pacific populations in New Zealand: A presentation by Dr Vili Nosa at the 2014 AOD Provider Collaborative Research Symposium.
• From then to when: CEP research in Aotearoa New Zealand: A presentation by Dr Helen Warren at the 2014 AOD Provider Collaborative Research Symposium.

INVESTING IN THE AOD WORKFORCE:

We have invested in several learning and professional development initiatives in recent years, and will be making many of these available on this site. In 2014, we were also very pleased to present a Research Symposium in partnership with the University of Auckland's Centre for Addiction Research.  The symposium offered AOD professionals in Counties Manukau the opportunity to hear about some of the latest research in the sector and discuss clinical and service implications with colleagues.  The presentations, as well as the slides, are available online, including:

• KEYNOTE: Towards a sustainable and fit for purpose mental health and addictions workforce: Chair of Health Workforce NZ Professor Des Gorman delivered an energetic and insightful presentation explaining the current state of the mental health and addictions workforce with his views on what is required to meet the needs of the sector in the near to medium term.
• Working together well: research and practice in AOD services in New Zealand: Associate Professor Peter Adams provided an overview of AOD research and service development in NZ over the last 30 years, focusing on how academic and service agencies have attempted to work together.
• Resilience: is this a fence like at the top of the cliff? A well-received and thought provoking presentation by Dr Peter Huggard, University of Auckland.

BUILDING A TALENT PIPELINE:

• Counties Manukau AOD Internship Programme: Our award-winning internship programme offers graduates an opportunity to gain experience within three AOD services in Counties Manukau, combined with a postgraduate qualification in alcohol and drug studies and provisional DAPAANZ registration on completion.
• Placement opportunities in :Counties Manukau: Ten members of the Collaborative offer workplacement opportunities at various levels of study that fulfil the practical experience requirements of tertiary-level alcohol and drug courses available in the Auckland region. Our placement campaign helps students find out more about the organisations offering placement and identify the opportunities most suited to their needs.

SUPPORTING CONSUMER AND PEER SERVICES:

• Evaluating peer support services in Counties Manukau: In 2014 we commissioned a synthesis of system-level themes to identify recommendations for improvement and further development of peer support services.
• Vocational support for consumers of AOD services: A 2013 report offering recommendations for vocational service development in Counties Manukau.

Information about other projects and research can be found on individual project pages, while summary reports and copies of presentations and brochures can be accessed through the Knowledge Centre.