Apprenticeship - Trainee Pharmacy Technician

Here at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,

Our mission is: Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is: To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Job overview

We are recruiting for an Apprenticeship - Trainee Pharmacy Technician who share our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

Are you looking to take your first steps into employment? Or are you looking for your next opportunity?

We can offer you a fantastic chance to ‘EARN WHILE YOU LEARN’ within our friendly Pharmacy department.

The work is interesting and varied and you will gain skills in all areas of pharmacy including dispensing prescriptions, supplying medication and counselling patients. You will work towards completing an accuracy checking of prescribed items competency as well as ward-based competencies.

You will be required to attend network study days approximately every 5 weeks. Successful completion of the qualification will enable you to work as a qualified registered Pharmacy Technician.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

Salary year 1 = £20,379, year 2 = £21,835.

You will need a minimum of 5 GCSEs grade 4 or above (or equivalent) which must include Maths, English, Chemistry and Biology (double science accepted).

*Applicants must meet apprenticeship funding requirements. Proof of GCSEs/equivalent will need to be shown in interview*

*Please note post will not start until September 2025*

Successful completion of the qualification will enable you to work as a qualified registered Pharmacy Technician.

To undertake Level 4 Higher Education Certificate in Pharmacy Technician Practice to become a qualified registered Pharmacy Technician with the GPhC (General Pharmaceutical Council) ensuring all deadlines are met.

To prepare and dispense medicinal products.

To assist in the pharmacy ‘Topping up’ service supplying medicinal products to wards and departments.

To complete the accuracy checking accreditation to final check prescription items once qualified and registered with the GPhC.

To complete medicines reconciliation competencies: checking patient’s own medications for suitability, ordering patient specific medications, providing patient counselling and confirming patient’s drug history.

To participate in the Saturday, Sunday, late night and Bank Holiday rotas

Successful completion of the qualification will enable you to work as a qualified registered Pharmacy Technician.

*Please note course provider may be subject to change due to current changes in legislation*

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide & our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We understand that finding and starting a new job is an important life decision. If you need reasonable adjustments for a disability, or a life event, such as menopause - so that we can consider your application fairly & to get the best out of you during the selection process, please let us know.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. Employees are entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns & we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made & considered formally, & will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications/Training

• 5 Grade A-C GCSEs including maths, english, Chemistry, Biology (Double science)

• pharmacy apprentices level 2
• intermediate level apprenticeship in health (pharmacy services)

Previous Experience

• customer service work experience

Skills

• willing to learn new tasks
• commitment to study
• self motivated
• self directed
• work to deadlines/assignment based assessment
• able to cope with work and day release

Knowledge

• able to work out simple calculations
• literate

• IT skills

Other Requirements

• Understands the importance of NHS values

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include

We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect

We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve

We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing [email protected]

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

When you apply...

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date in certain circumstances. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible.

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

As a publicly funded employer, we need to ensure we utilise our funds responsibly, this may mean we are unable to support sponsorship required to gain the right to work for particular positions. We strongly advise you to contact the line manager or a member of the Resourcing Team before applying to confirm if we will be able to support with sponsorship for that post.

King's Trust Support

Please contact Enquiries.H&[email protected] for support.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.