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The General Pharmaceutical Council has announced it plans to go ahead with proposals to raise the minimum level of study for trainee pharmacy technicians to RQF Level 4 in the face of criticism from “large national” trade bodies in the sector.

In papers published ahead of the GPhC’s council meeting this Thursday (July 16), the regulator confirmed that following a consultation exercise it will raise the minimum training level for pharmacy technicians after 77 per cent of responses to a consultation exercise that ran from mid-December to March 25 expressed support for the move.

Some “large national community pharmacy representative bodies” were among those that disagreed amid “concerns about potential recruitment and retention challenges” for the pharmacy technician workforce, said the GPhC.

The regulator concluded that raising the training standard from RQF level 3 to level 4 would ensure that pharmacy technicians would equip pharmacy technicians with the level of autonomy and decision-making skills needed to carry out their expanding responsibilities at the point of registration.

It cited “wide support” for the change as a deciding factor, adding that a move to Level 4 “has already occurred in Scotland and large parts of Wales”.

However, it said it will delay “complete implementation” of its new training standards for the profession until Autumn 2029 at the earliest, in recognition of challenges such as cost and the “structural changes” that will soon see NHS England abolished, which “creates uncertainty regarding future leadership, funding, and implementation oversight for any change to the level of minimum qualifications for pharmacy technicians”.

The GPhC expects its "phased implementation" plans will see the first accredited Level 4 courses launch in Autumn 2028, with the existing Level 3 courses to be withdrawn one year later.

The revised standards will also make it mandatory for anyone entering pharmacy technician training to have an RQF Level 2 science qualification or its equivalent. The existing standards state that this is advised but not a requirement. 

The GPhC will also stick with plans to make final accuracy checking a mandatory component in initial education and training programmes and to retain the requirement for trainees to carry out 14 hours of supervised work-based experience per week, although it now plans to offer trainees flexibility to complete their supervised hours over a longer period due to “limited supervisory capacity” in some pharmacy settings.

Some changes to the proposed learning outcomes have been made in light of responses to the consultation exercise. These include the expectation that trainees will learn about challenging “all forms of discrimination” and work to ensure that trainees will be adequately prepared to supervise the preparing, dispensing and supply of medicines. 

Council members will vote on whether to approve the revised standards when they meet on Thursday.