Pharmacy technician
Pharmacy technicians prepare and supply medicines for prescriptions, under the supervision of a pharmacist.
Also known as: Pharmaceutical technician
- Starter salary£28,000 a year
- Experienced£39,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 40 a week
What you'll do
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 could work in an NHS or private hospital, at a health centre, in a prison or at a store.
You may need to wear protective clothing and a uniform.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
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
How to become a pharmacy technician
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
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.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- pass enhanced background checks
Career path and progression
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.
Professional and industry bodies
Once qualified you can join the Association of Pharmacy Technicians for continuous professional development.
Registration
- you'll need to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job rolePharmacy assistant
- Job rolePharmacist
- Job roleLaboratory technician
- Job roleHealthcare science assistant
- Job roleDispensing optician
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0