The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has appointed a new business partner to help more of its members offer non-clinical apprenticeships.
Related Article: Starmer touts pharmacy-led weight loss jab drive in 10-year plan speech
Ofsted-approved training provider Qube Learning will be able to support contractors 'considering taking on a customer service apprentice or upskilling an existing employee with a leadership or management apprenticeship', the NPA said last week (7 March).
Demand for support with non-clinical apprenticeships was revealed by member feedback in recent months, they added.
Related Article: Pharmacies’ clinical services offering to expand under NHS 10-year plan
An NPA spokesperson told The Pharmacist: 'Recruiting an apprentice can be really beneficial for pharmacies.'
The spokesperson added that apprentices will be skilled even before finishing their training thanks to sector involvement in developing the apprenticeship standards for pharmacy. Training can be tailored to suit the needs of each pharmacy, they said.
Related Article: Pharmacists to staff new neighbourhood health centres
They added: 'Employers that already pay into a levy pot accumulate large sums and if not used that money can be lost after two years. It could instead be invested in an apprenticeship programme to develop the non-clinical skills of an existing colleague, which can prove to be a worthwhile investment benefiting the team, the balance sheet and ultimately patients.'
Have your say
Please add your comment in the box below. You can include links, but HTML is not permitted. Please note that comments are not moderated before publication and the views expressed are those of the user and do not reflect the views of The Pharmacist. Remember that submission of comments is governed by our Terms and Conditions. You can also read our full guidelines on article comments here – but please be aware that you are legally liable for any libellous or offensive comments that you make. If you have a complaint about a comment or are concerned that a comment breaches our terms and conditions, please use the ‘Report this comment’ function to alert our web team.