Key Summary
- Applications for the CPTAP opens on April 27th.
- Successful applicants receive £15,505 per trainee, per year for two years (totaling £31,010).
- New rules prioritize SMEs, limiting applications to one per business per region.
Skills4Pharmacy owner and founder Amerjit Singh has welcome the latest Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme (CPTAP) formulated by NHS, and offered to help pharmacies that are interested in getting their staff undergo this training.
The two-year course provides £15,505 per year for each trainee, and Singh points out that it will provide pharmacies an opportunity to upskill staff without financial strain.
He claims the programme is more lucrative than Pharmacy First. “For Pharmacy First, you must do 30 consultations a month to get £1,000 (£12,000 a year), and many struggle with GP referrals. With CPTAP, if you are successful, you get £15,500 a year just for taking on staff,” he said.
Change of rules
The rules have been updated recently. Previously, you could have multiple applicants. This year, it’s one applicant per business per region (out of seven regions). This will support the SMEs and independent contractors. There will be over 700 places this year, and priority will be given to those who were unsuccessful in the past.
“In the last couple of years with this program, there have been 525 places of which over 400 we trained. Over 400 of them come through us. About 80 per cent of all contractors trust Skills4Pharamcy.”
This time he has offered to help any pharmacy that wants to avail this training scheme.
“I will help any pharmacy - independent or multiple. My business development teams will actually come to pharmacies to help write the application if the owner has a clear vision for putting workforce at the centre of their business. That's my legacy. I want to support as many people as I can get on this programme and improve their pharmacies. Right now it is a challenging time for pharmacy.”
The application process will begin on 27 April and close on 18 May.
Reimbursement process
Regarding the admission process, Singh said that if a candidate is successful, they will be notified in late June/early July. They will be offered a contract and they need to start apprenticeship by 13 September.
The NHS then pays one-twelfth of the £15,500 every month through NHS reimbursement for two years. The course itself, which usually costs £4,000, is free through the apprenticeship.
The program has been received very well as it was oversubscribed every year.
“It’s a win-win: you get £31,000 over two years and a highly trained professional who can check prescriptions and run services via PGDs (Patient Group Directions),” he stated.
There is no cost attached to the assistance provided by Skill4Pharmacy.
“I am a contractor myself. These are my brothers and sisters. Anything we do for contractors is at zero cost. I want to help the sector. I want independent pharmacies to be viable and empowered.”
He said the scheme would be extremely beneficial for first-time pharmacy buyers. They may now not be in a position to hire a technician, but they will be able to get one trained free of cost and later utilise their services.
Shifting Focus: Working ‘On’ the Business
When asked about his mantra of success as a pharmacy owner, Singh said that pharmacists tend to take up every task on their own and that this has to stop.
He stresses on the importance of investing in a team so that the pharmacist can do the "top-end," higher fee-earning tasks. “In my pharmacies, I secure nearly £60,000 in resource income before dispensing a single item by utilising pre-reg students (£27k), technicians (£15.5k), and Pharmacy First (£12,000),” he said.
He observed that he doesn’t work “in his pharmacies” anymore. He works “on them”.
“If you go to a GP surgery or to a dentist, they only do the top end fee stuff. The team does the rest of the jobs.
“In a pharmacy, pharmacy owners tend to end up being a pharmacist, HR, management, bookkeeper, cleaner, all of this. That has to stop.
“We have to start relying on our team. You must invest in your teams and pharmacists must become pharmacists and pharmacy owners must become better leaders.”
