Is it hard to get a job as a Pharmacy Technician ?

Malcolm.

I was thinking of doing this course in one of the IT's

Is it hard to get work as a Pharmacy Technician ?

Does this job have a long term future, or will the industry just employ the increasingly cheaper and plentiful junior pharmacists to do it instead ?

Many thanks.

echo beach

Malcolm. wrote: »

Does this job have a long term future, or will the industry just employ the increasingly cheaper and plentiful junior pharmacists to do it instead ?

The job certainly has a long term future and it is likely to go down the route seen in the UK where technicians become registered and must have certain educational levels and do continuing professional development.
In the short term the ban on recruitment into hospitals and the continuing cut backs in the community pharmacy sector coupled with the high numbers of technicians being produced by the ITs and by up-skilling of those already working in pharmacies means tough competition for the jobs that are available.
It would be worth asking the IT what sort of employment record their recent graduates have.

While there is a certain amount of overlap between the work done by technicians and pharmacists, they are different jobs and aren't in direct competition with each other.

Malcolm.

echo beach wrote: »

The job certainly has a long term future and it is likely to go down the route seen in the UK where technicians become registered and must have certain educational levels and do continuing professional development.
In the short term the ban on recruitment into hospitals and the continuing cut backs in the community pharmacy sector coupled with the high numbers of technicians being produced by the ITs and by up-skilling of those already working in pharmacies means tough competition for the jobs that are available.
It would be worth asking the IT what sort of employment record their recent graduates have.

While there is a certain amount of overlap between the work done by technicians and pharmacists, they are different jobs and aren't in direct competition with each other.

Thanks for that. I'm primarily interested in community pharmacy work.

Is there a good chance of work in smaller and rural community pharmacies, or do only larger pharmacies employ technicians ?

echo beach

Malcolm. wrote: »

Thanks for that. I'm primarily interested in community pharmacy work.

Is there a good chance of work in smaller and rural community pharmacies, or do only larger pharmacies employ technicians ?

Almost all pharmacies employ at least one technician but staff turnover in the smaller rural pharmacies tends to be low so new opportunities don't occur as often as they do in the larger chains. In smaller pharmacies there is a demand for people with a wide skill set so experience in areas like sales, marketing, stock control, payroll and general management skills would be a big advantage.
Are you still at school or to you have work experience in other areas that might transfer into a pharmacy setting?
If we ever see the promised move to free GP care then it is likely that prescription volumes could increase and there would be a need for more technicians but for now jobs are limited.

Malcolm.

echo beach wrote: »

Almost all pharmacies employ at least one technician but staff turnover in the smaller rural pharmacies tends to be low so new opportunities don't occur as often as they do in the larger chains. In smaller pharmacies there is a demand for people with a wide skill set so experience in areas like sales, marketing, stock control, payroll and general management skills would be a big advantage.
Are you still at school or to you have work experience in other areas that might transfer into a pharmacy setting?
If we ever see the promised move to free GP care then it is likely that prescription volumes could increase and there would be a need for more technicians but for now jobs are limited.

Thanks. I've done a few jobs in my time. I find the practical side of pharmacy and drug treatment interesting. I certainly don't mind hunting around for a job if one can usually be got eventually, and also doing a bit of stocking and shop work as well as anything else that needs to be done around the place. I just want to see if it's worth my while going back to college again and investing another 2 years of my life and money doing so. For family reasons I need local work in the rural Co. Galway area, otherwise I'd be happy to move further afield, but that option's not open to me.

Queenalocin

The courses in the IOTs include work placement, either in hospital or community and many of the pharmacies keep their students on afterwards if they can at all. Have a look at this pagehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Pharmacy-Technician-IT-Carlow/276581812932 to get a feel for what sort of jobs are out there.
A lot of pharmacy jobs tend to be filled by word of mouth so if you are seriously interested then call into your local pharmacy, explain what you want and see will they give you some unpaid time in the pharmacy. Even if it is only a few hours, it will help your application and let you see what the job really entails.

emerlola

Hey there, Im hoping to get a place in a pharmacy technician course in September. Looking into work placement and was just wondering has anyone done the course and had a hospital placement? How did you go about getting this placement?

Queenalocin

All of the courses are structured differently so going about getting a hospital placement will depend on where you go, all the courses have work placement included in them. You are best to contact the colleges themselves and ask about the proper procedure. Most of the larger hospitals coordinate with the colleges to ensure that as many students as possible get hospital experience.

emerlola

Oh right, great thanks for your help!