Starting a drug and alcohol testing business

Demand for a safer workplace in Australia, and even the world is on the increase due to a record high number of employees testing positive. Nearly 1 in 11 employees in the US were unable to pass an oral drug screen. Therefor becoming involved in the drug testing business could be a great career opportunity!

Starting a drug testing business (just like any business) will require basic knowledge and experience onsite and will require you to gain accreditation through a NATA registered training provider. Don’t worry, we can put you in touch with these companies and when the next drug test course will be near you. The courses are either face to face, or online with a Skype practical. Courses are held in most major cities and are very frequent.

Drug Testing Training

Here’s what you will learn,
1. Understanding of relevant Australian Standards and Legislation
2. How to perform a Saliva Drug Test
3. How to perform a Urine Drug Test
4. How to perform a Breath Alcohol Test
5. Practical, hands on application of drug and alcohol testing skills
6. Understanding of drug and alcohol testing related issues and how to deal with them (communication, employee reaction, considerations for policy and procedures)

Please contact us here to find out more about drug and alcohol testing courses.

signage

Get out there!

After you have gained certification you may look into asking for work experience with an established drug and alcohol testing company. As in many industries, it’s not enough just to be certified. You need experience in the industry to get your foot in the door first. Once a good relationship has been formed with your peers, you should then think about branching out.

Your next question to ask your self is what market should you serve? Specialising (opposed to generalising) in curtain areas is a good idea. That way you can keep it simple and focus on honing in your one or two specialities. For example, specialising in testing schools, you would become great at talking with kids and young adults about drug and alcohol tests. You would also become great at learning exactly what principals and school managers need to hear to give you the green light!

man writing on board

Research

Do some research before you jump in and start. Maybe write a business plan and put down a projected target for where you’d like to be in 5 years. Targets are a great thing to have on paper, because goal setting can really propel you forward.

The next step will be to buy equipment such as urine, or saliva drug tests and alcohol breathalysers…I know a really good company for this!….

After this you may want to buy liability insurance as sometimes drug tests are contested. This will put your mind at ease and you can focus on building your empire…. in OZ!