The employer group met again last week to discuss the MPharm Degree Apprenticeship Standard for Pharmacist. There has been a long break between meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the high profile that Pharmacies and Pharmacists have taken in contributing to the management of the crisis.
The group is in the process of reviewing the proposal, apprenticeship standard and end point assessment plan. The standard will be aligned to the recently published General Pharmaceutical Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists whilst also meeting the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education requirements for apprenticeship standard content. No dates have yet been agreed for consultation but when they are a news item will be put up on this site. Sign up to the newsletter here to also receive notification to your in-box.
The group continues to receive the occasional query regarding the content of the apprenticeship, in addition to the many myths that still exist around apprenticeships in general. The group would like to reassure the sector on the following points:
- The apprenticeship standard will include the full MPharm degree and the one-year integrated pre-reg period, thereby meeting the same regulatory requirements as the traditional route.
- Entry onto the apprenticeship programme will continue to be dictated by the MPharm degree element of the programme.
- Participating employers will be responsible for setting the salary for any of their apprentice employees coming onto the programme. As with other professional apprenticeship programmes, due to the significant investment that will be required by the employer to support the method of delivery, we would expect salaries to be competitive in order to both attract and retain individuals to the programme.
A full list of FAQs can be found here and you can view the organisations involved in the employer group here.