The pharmacy profession is facing a workforce challenge that cannot be solved by recruitment alone.
Across the UK, employers continue to report difficulties attracting, retaining and developing pharmacists. At the same time, internationally trained pharmacists are becoming an increasingly important part of the workforce pipeline. Overseas Pharmacists' Assessment Programme (OSPAP) trainees now account for more than 14 percent of foundation trainees nationally, representing a 250 percent increase over the last five years. Yet despite this growth, many internationally trained pharmacists continue to face significant barriers long after they have demonstrated academic and professional competence.
This was the focus of the Catalyst Conference 2026, a gathering of employers, regulators, workforce leaders, professional bodies, educators and internationally trained pharmacists convened to explore a critical question: Are we producing registered pharmacists, or integrated pharmacists?
The consensus was clear. The UK has a route to registration, but it does not yet have a structured route to workforce integration.
A growing workforce opportunity
Internationally trained pharmacists represent one of the most significant opportunities available to address future workforce pressures.
Conference delegates heard that England currently has more than 1,000 unfilled foundation training places and that the pharmacy workforce could face a shortfall of approximately 16,000 pharmacists by 2036 if current trends continue.
Many internationally trained pharmacists arrive with extensive clinical knowledge, professional experience and a strong desire to contribute. However, they are often required to navigate unfamiliar healthcare systems, workplace cultures, communication expectations and immigration requirements with limited structured support.
The result is a workforce challenge hidden in plain sight.
The business cost of poor integration
One of the strongest messages to emerge from the conference was that workforce integration should not be viewed solely as an educational or diversity issue.
It is a business issue.
When pharmacists are not adequately supported during transition, organisations absorb a range of hidden costs, including increased supervision requirements, slower progression to independent practice, reduced productivity, workplace misunderstandings and avoidable attrition.
For a pharmacist earning £50,000-£60,000 annually, a six-month delay in reaching expected productivity levels can conservatively cost an organisation £10,000-£15,000 through reduced operational efficiency, management time and lost capacity.
Where integration difficulties contribute to turnover, the impact is even greater. Recruitment costs, onboarding, training, locum cover, visa administration and loss of organisational knowledge can push replacement costs into the region of £20,000-£40,000 per pharmacist.
Against that backdrop, investment in structured integration support becomes a commercial decision rather than a discretionary workforce initiative.
The question for pharmacy businesses is not whether they can afford to invest in integration. It is whether they can afford not to.
What pharmacists are actually navigating
Through panel discussions and breakout sessions, delegates identified challenges extending far beyond education and assessment.
These included:
- Financial pressures associated with OSPAP fees, relocation and cost of living
- Visa uncertainty and sponsorship challenges
- Understanding NHS systems and patient pathways
- Navigating UK workplace culture and communication expectations
- Lack of mentorship and professional support
- Limited recognition of previous professional experience
- Confidence and psychological safety challenges
- Family responsibilities and social isolation.
Many participants described the transition not as a registration challenge, but as a professional, cultural and personal adaptation process. A recurring theme was that internationally trained pharmacists are often expected to adapt to the system, while relatively little attention is paid to how the system adapts to support them.
Testing the GPhC proposed standards
Delegates also examined the GPhC's proposed reforms for internationally trained pharmacists.
The proposed move towards a shorter, more integrated pathway was broadly welcomed.
Participants recognised the potential to reduce financial burden, improve consistency and accelerate workforce entry. However, delegates consistently raised concerns that the reforms focus primarily on educational equivalence rather than workforce integration.
While shortening the pathway may improve efficiency, many questioned whether it addresses the barriers pharmacists face once they enter practice. Several delegates expressed concern that reducing training duration without introducing a dedicated integration layer could accelerate existing challenges rather than solve them.
As one participant observed, the profession risks creating a faster route to registration without creating a safer route to successful integration.
Employers need support too
A particularly important theme for employers was the recognition that successful integration cannot rest solely on the individual pharmacist. Independent community pharmacies repeatedly expressed willingness to employ and support internationally trained pharmacists but highlighted a lack of practical guidance, resources and structured frameworks.
Delegates identified a need for:
- Structured onboarding programmes
- Communication and cultural orientation support
- Mentorship frameworks
- Psychological safety initiatives
- Employer guidance and best-practice resources
- Sustainable funding models for workforce development.
The discussion reinforced the importance of shared responsibility across employers, regulators, universities, professional bodies and workforce planners.
Moving from registration to integration
The conference concluded with a challenge to the profession.
For too long, success has been measured by whether internationally trained pharmacists reach the register. Future success should be measured by whether they thrive once they get there.
If pharmacy is serious about addressing workforce shortages, improving retention and building sustainable services, workforce integration must become a strategic priority.
Internationally trained pharmacists are not a temporary solution to workforce pressures. They are a growing and permanent part of the future workforce.
The Catalyst Conference demonstrated that the goodwill exists, the workforce need is clear, and the business case is compelling.
The next step is action.
(Faith Adebimpe is the founder of Pharmacist Evolve)
Catalyst is the UK's first dedicated conference focused exclusively on workforce integration for overseas-trained pharmacists
