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Pharmacy technician

Pharmacy technicians prepare and supply medicines for prescriptions, under the supervision of a pharmacist.

Annual Salary

£25,000 to £35,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 40 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on a rota

4%
Future employment

There will be 4% more Pharmacy technician jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In this role you could:

  • prepare prescription items
  • make sure prescriptions are legal and accurate
  • order new stock using computerised systems
  • give advice to customers about medicines and refer complex queries to the pharmacist
  • handle confidential information

Working environment

You may need to wear protective clothing and a uniform.

You could work in an NHS or private hospital, at a health centre, in a prison or at a store.

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
Apprenticeship

You could do a Pharmacy Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

You can also train to be a pharmacy technician through an apprenticeship with the NHS or the armed forces.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
  • search for apprenticeships on NHS Jobs|https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate
  • Army apprenticeships|https://jobs.army.mod.uk/regular-army/what-you-get/apprenticeships-skills/
  • RAF apprenticeships|https://recruitment.raf.mod.uk/apprenticeships
Work

You can apply for a trainee pharmacy technician position and learn on the job.

Employers will often ask for 4 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English, maths and science, Level 2 Diploma in Applied Science, or equivalent qualifications.

You'll do on-the-job training over 2 years and work towards a Level 3 Diploma in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Professional and industry bodies

Once qualified you can join the Association of Pharmacy Technicians for continuous professional development.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a pharmacy technician from Health Careers and the Association of Pharmacy Technicians.

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With experience you could become a lead pharmacy technician or a department manager.

You could take on a specialist role like clinical technician, working with healthcare professionals and patients on wards. There may also be opportunities to move into areas like oncology, paediatrics or clinical trials.

Some pharmacy technicians go into research and development work, or move into pharmaceutical production, sales or marketing.

You could train to be a pharmacist.

Another option is to become a pharmacy assessor working with trainee pharmacy technicians.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • customer service skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • active listening skills
  • maths knowledge
  • the ability to work well with others
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • administration skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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