Objective

To improve the knowledge of alcohol as both a specific commercial product and a substance with a specific effect on the human body.

Description

The training in is part of the nationwide “Alcohol. Always responsibly” campaign. ZP PPS has found that staff training is one of the most effective ways to reduce alcohol consumption among young people.  Direct contact with sellers during the training and the transfer of practical knowledge also gives the opportunity to change awareness, and thus change attitudes.  Sellers understand why alcohol should not be sold to minors and they do not look at alcohol sales strictly as business.  They feel responsible.

Workshops deal with issues such as compliance with the law, the consequences of breaking it and the responsibility of sales staff.  By tackling the issue of underage drinking sellers learn that their responsibility is to ensure that alcohol is not sold to minors, to check the IDs of those who may be under the age of 18, and to prevent adults from buying drinks for the underage.   

Workshops also deal with alcohol myths (the same amount of pure alcohol - 10 g is in 250 ml of beer, 100 ml of wine and 30 ml spirits), treating everyone in a responsible way, and the important role of sellers in building a responsible alcohol consumption culture.  They also find out how to cope with clients who should not buy alcohol and how to refuse them in an assertive way.  

• Participants can check their current knowledge against the workshop subjects and get answers to questions related to their daily work.
• All participants receive a manual “Responsible sale and serving of alcohol beverages” and a certificate of participation at the end.
• The workshops are led by Robert Lemański, a qualified preventive specialist, a socially responsible business specialist and a trainer for business control bodies authorised to sell alcoholic beverages.
• Workshops organised in local communities start discussion about alcohol related harm and young people.

In addition to the workshops, educational materials are shared with the programme partners and local governments are invited to take part through a letter explaining the importance of this type of education.  Also, a newsletter with a summary of the programme is sent to stakeholders at the end of the year.  

In 2019, cooperation with retail chains Makro Cash and Carry was started, broadening the reach and impact of the campaign.  Local governments and local police departments also take part in the programme. 

In 2020 more workshops were carried out online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Partners

local governments, local police departments and retail/franchise chains

Results

Due to ban on live meetings in 2022, only 2 workshops were organized in December with 50 participants. Initiative will be continued in 2023.

In 2021 workshops were suspended due to pandemic restrictions. The pilot online training did not reach the expected number of participants. It proved that sellers and servers are interested in live workshops.

In 2020, 10 workshops were held and 140 trained.  This included a workshop in Kościan with 20 participants.  2,063 have received training in total.

In 2019, more than 100 hours of training for sellers and servers of alcoholic beverages was carried out.  Workshops were held in 41 towns and cities such as Częstochowa, Kraków, Katowice, Sosnowiec, Warszawa, with nearly 1,000 participants.  2018: Workshops were held in eight cities and 314 sellers and servers of alcoholic beverages were trained.  2017: Workshops were held in 6 cities (Gdynia, Katowice, Krynica-Zdrój, Rzeszow, Słupsk, Sopot and Wladyslawowo).  310 servers and sellers were trained.  In addition, representatives of local police and employees of the City Hall also attended the workshops in some cities. In 2016: Workshops took place in Gdynia. 

Measurement & evaluation

Results of questionnaires after workshops in 2020 shows that 96% found the workshops useful for their job. There is a growing awareness why alcohol should not be sold to minors and a greater understanding of the “alcohol is alcohol” message among sellers.  This awareness correlates with data showing fewer teenagers who drink alcohol (decrease of around 10%) and the decreasing percentage of teenagers who rate that buying alcohol is “easy” (between 6 – 10% depending on type of beverage.  (ESPAD 2019).

Questionnaire responses after workshops in 2019, showed 98% of participants graded workshops as useful and helpful in their daily job.  The programme was also judged to cement knowledge, clarify any doubts and broaden knowledge in the field of effective customer service, social problems connected with irresponsible consumption, legal conditions of selling alcohol and more.  It also received very good marks for its interactive formula.

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