The GPhC has published a report that looks at the quality of the education and training of pharmacy technicians

The report produced by the Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Issues at the University of Manchester, represents the first comprehensive study into the quality of pharmacy technician education and training since it became a fully regulated profession in 2010.

The research shows that the majority of pharmacy technicians were positive about their training experience and the facilities in place to help them complete their qualifications. However, there were key differences between the training experiences of pharmacy technicians based in community pharmacy versus those based in hospitals, with those who trained in hospital having higher agreement levels than those that trained in community with regards to feeling supported by their organisation and colleagues as a trainee. Respondents using a distance provider also rated more highly in overall satisfaction than those using FE colleges.

Commenting on the report, Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive of the GPhC said:

“The role of pharmacy technicians and the knowledge and skills required of them continues to evolve and as the regulator we need to make sure that standards for education and training keep with this evolution.

“This report is providing us with valuable information around the strengths and weaknesses of the current system of education and training of pharmacy technicians, and the approval mechanisms which it underpinned by. It will support our ongoing work to ensure high quality training experience and in particular will feed into the review of our pharmacy technician education standards.”

Duncan Rudkin – report provides valuable information