The What, How and Wherefore Art Thou?

Issues relating to training design, evaluation and transfer are relevant to the Australian alcohol and other drugs (AOD) field due to their virtual absence from the literature. Whilst the AOD field has attempted to identify the composition and roles of frontline AOD workers, efforts to identify, measure and respond to workplace factors that may enhance or inhibit the transfer of training outcomes to the workplace have been largely ignored. With problems in recruiting and retaining experienced staff, and increasing interest in developing the capacity of both organisations and the AOD workforce to respond to AOD issues, it is appropriate to investigate strategies by which to achieve the greatest impact from AOD learning and development strategies. Similarly, it is time to shift the focus and responsibility from individuals, and encourage organisations to support sustainable outcomes from their training investment, including investigating training methods other than traditional face-to-face “one-stop” workshops, and strategies that stay when workers leave.