Unique OH Services selects fingerprint drug test for job seekers and young offender employment programme

Unique OH Services selects fingerprint drug test for job seekers and young offender employment programme

•  Non-intrusive Intelligent Fingerprinting system to be used as part of young adult job seekers and young offenders back to work support programme
• 200 tests a week predicted using simple and dignified fingerprint method offered by occupational health service provider as alternative to traditional urine or saliva-based tests – enabling full social distancing during testing

Occupational health services company – Unique OH Services Ltd – is starting to use innovative fingerprint drug testing as part of a programme to help young adult jobseekers and young offenders back into employment. Unique OH Services will use the Intelligent Fingerprinting technology to provide a negative drug test result to candidates who pass the test in advance of starting a sector-specific Pre-Employment Programme. This demonstrates their drug free status to prospective employers in the civil engineering and infrastructure sectors, for example, where drug and alcohol testing is increasingly common. Unique OH Services anticipates that it will use Intelligent Fingerprinting’s rapid system to test some 200 candidates a week.

The simple, non-intrusive test from Intelligent Fingerprinting uses fingerprint sweat samples to determine if a subject has recently ingested certain types of drugs, and will be used to test participants of the OH Services back to work scheme. Having a negative drug and alcohol test result to present to prospective employers of young adult jobseekers and young offenders is seen as a distinct advantage – alongside new skills, such as construction, obtained from the back to work programme. The fingerprint method enables full social distancing throughout the testing process. Printed results are delivered in 10 minutes, meaning they can be shared on-site with the candidate and discussed if required.

Dawn Hemmings of Unique OH Services said: “Drug and alcohol testing is now mandatory for all candidates before they can start on one of our Pre-Employment Programmes, which are all designed in partnership with contractors. We are already in discussions to deliver this service nationwide to support Government initiatives such as the Kickstart programme which was announced last week.”

“We’re seeing increasing interest in our non-intrusive, portable fingerprint-based drug testing method from the occupational health sector given its ongoing requirement for pre-employment, for-cause and random testing. Given COVID-19 social distancing requirements, as well as potential concerns around collecting urine and oral fluid samples, it’s clear that Intelligent Fingerprinting is becoming the smart choice for organisations needing a fast, dignified and socially-distant approach to drug testing,” added Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Dr Paul Yates.

Fingerprint-based drug testing – how it works
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s drug testing solution features a small, tamper-evident drug screening cartridge onto which ten fingerprint sweat samples are collected, in a process which takes less than a minute. The Intelligent Fingerprinting portable analysis unit then reads the cartridge and provides a positive or negative result on-screen for all drugs in the test in ten minutes. A fingerprint-based laboratory confirmation service is also available.

An introductory video demonstrating fingerprint-based drug testing in action is available here.

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For media information contact Cheryl Billson at Comma
Email: cheryl.billson@commacomms.com  Tel: +44 (0)7791 720460

About Unique OH Services Ltd
Unique OH Services Ltd was established in 2020 specifically to support occupational health testing requirements. It is a sister company to well established Unique Health and Safety Consultants Ltd that works with companies to assess their legal compliance with health & safety legislation. The company has been providing drug and alcohol testing services for workplaces.

About Intelligent Fingerprinting
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s portable Drug Screening System works by analysing fingerprint sweat. It is non-invasive, fast and cost-effective, with sample collection taking seconds and simultaneous screening for multiple drug groups in ten minutes. A laboratory confirmation service is also available.

The system has applications within many sectors and customers include employers in safety-critical industries such as construction, transport and logistics firms, drug treatment and family safeguarding organisations, as well as UK coroners. The company has distributors across the globe, including the USA.

Founded in 2007, Intelligent Fingerprinting is a spin-out company from the University of East Anglia (UEA).  The company is based in Cambridge, England and employs around 40 people. www.intelligentfingerprinting.com

Twitter @iFingerprinting