Both drugs and alcohol can impair a person’s physical and mental alertness, cause long-term health issues, and lead to unsafe situations. To avoid any unforeseen problems due to the use of these substances, many employers strive for a drug-free workplace which includes testing current or potential employees.
Alcohol testing involves determining the concentration of alcohol in the test subject’s breath, saliva, or blood. This measure of concentration is then used to determine the alcohol level.
Drug testing refers to any analysis of a biological sample for traces of drugs or their metabolites. Drug tests may be conducted using urine, breath, hair, saliva, sweat, and blood.
The Drug & Alcohol Testing Association of Canada (DATAC) develops standardized courses for those interested to work for the Canadian drug and alcohol testing industry.
Overview of Drug and Alcohol Testing Online Training
Certified Specimen Collector (CSC):
This course covers collection of samples or specimen from people for testing levels of drugs or alcohol in their system. The training includes a range of work such as collecting, processing, and interpreting results from urine, oral fluid, and hair specimens.
It is designed for the Canadian drug testing industry. In addition to sample collection procedures, the course also includes on-site as well as point-of-care testing by means of in-vitro diagnostic devices.
Certified DOT Specimen Collector (CDSC)
Complementing the CSC course, the Certified DOT Specimen Collector is specifically geared to certify students to work in the United States Department of Transportation’s workplace drug testing by complying to the federally regulated procedures in America.
It also provides an understanding on how to perform U.S. regulated drug testing in Canada.
Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT) DOT Compliant
This is a course that covers training for both alcohol screening and confirmation testing procedures. It is in line with the requirements of United States Department of Transportation.
Students taking the Breath and Alcohol Technician course will learn the policies, regulations, and procedures about alcohol screening. They will learn all the requirements for screening through breath and oral fluid tests. Practice opportunities include mock proficiency testing through webcam.
Screening Test Technician (STT) DOT Compliant
This course covers is also compliant with the requirements of the United States Department of Transportation.
Candidates will learn different aspects of alcohol screening. The training includes procedures for both breath and oral fluid screening. They will review policies, regulations, and procedures relevant to alcohol screening and will be able to use any approved screening device.
For more information refer to https://datac.ca/