NHS Lanarkshire has celebrated the graduation of their first cohort of 12 Technical Apprentices in Pharmacy Services. This was a new Skills for Health apprenticeship launched in 2021 and NHS Lanarkshire was one of the first health boards to utilise the framework for our trainee Pharmacy Technicians.
Throughout the last two years our apprentice technicians have been able to earn while they learn: gaining invaluable experience working in the acute sites, GP practices and in partnership with local community pharmacies. The program has equipped our future pharmacy workforce with the necessary career skills and underpinning knowledge to start confidently on their NHS career journey.
The successful implementation and completion of the technical apprenticeship was due to the collaboration with our pharmacy teams across all sectors, the dedication and enthusiasm from our trainees, the motivation of the work-based assessors and the support of our education partner West College Scotland.
The apprentices from this first cohort have now graduated with a Scottish Vocational Qualification in Pharmacy Services Level 3 and an accredited Professional Development Award in Pharmacy Services. Following this they successfully completed their professional registration with the General Pharmaceutical Society and are fulfilling pharmacy technical roles across a wide variety of locations within NHS Lanarkshire.
Participation in the apprenticeship program also enabled us to upskill existing technical staff who were supported to achieve the Scottish Vocational Internal Assessor qualification improving our pharmacy educational infrastructure. Currently we have recruited a further two cohorts within the Pharmacy Technical Apprentice scheme with the next due to graduate in April 2024.
Our participation in the Pharmacy Apprenticeship program has allowed us to ensure a future pipeline of highly skilled pharmacy professionals within NHS Lanarkshire.
