The Alabama Department of Commerce advises that businesses across the state can now take advantage of free training to help supervisors identify and respond to mental health and substance abuse issues in the workforce.

The eight-hour training session is provided by the University of Alabama’s VitAL partnership, which uses education and training to help improve the health of Alabama’s workforce.

The training can be held at the business or virtually and is available through June.

“A healthy workforce is a productive workforce, and supporting mental health in the workplace is essential for Alabama’s continued economic success,” said Ellen McNair, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “This free training program gives businesses the tools to recognize and address mental health and substance abuse challenges, ensuring employees have the support they need to thrive.

“We encourage Alabama employers to take advantage of this opportunity and invest in the well-being of their teams,” McNair said.

Nationally, almost 9% of working adults have a substance use disorder, including 6.7% with an alcohol use disorder and 1.6% with a cannabis use disorder, VitAL says.

In addition, thousands of workdays and millions of dollars in productivity are lost in Alabama each year due to mental illness, according to VitAL.

VitAL’s Wendi Hogue leads the initiative and can be reached at 205-886-5124 or wendi.hogue@ua.edu. For more information, visit Free Workplace Mental Health Training for Alabama Employers | VitAL Alabama.

VitAL works to help Alabamians with mental health, substance abuse and trauma-related challenges. For more information on VitAL, visit VitAL Alabama | Improving wellness In Alabama.

The training is funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant administered by the Alabama Department of Commerce.

This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.