Pharmacy assistant
Pharmacy assistants serve customers and patients in chemists and hospital dispensaries.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As a pharmacy assistant you could:
- serve customers and give advice about non-prescription items
- label products, stock shelves and put orders together
- take calls from GP surgeries, nursing homes and clinics
- deliver medicines to wards
- enter medicine data on computer systems
Working environment
You could work at a health centre, at a store or in an NHS or private hospital.
You may need to wear a uniform.
Career path and progression
With experience and a recognised qualification, you could become a senior pharmacy assistant, supervisor or manager.
With further training, you could become a pharmacy technician.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- customer service skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to work well with others
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- to enjoy working with other people
- the ability to read English
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- a trainee position
- applying directly
You could do a college course to get some of the skills you'll need as a pharmacy assistant.
You could do a Level 2 or 3 Certificate in Retail Skills.
Entry requirements
You may need:
- 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
More Information
You could apply to a pharmacy business or the NHS to do a Pharmacy Services Assistant or Retailer Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More Information
You might be able to get a trainee pharmacy assistant job in a pharmacy.
You could work and do a part time qualification like the Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Support Staff.
You can apply directly for pharmacy assistant roles
You might need:
- experience of customer service
- good reading, number and IT skills
- GCSEs or equivalent
Further information
You can find out more about working as a pharmacy assistant from Health Careers.
Related videos
Suggested videos
Coffee With is in early release mode with a limited number of videos. New videos are being added every week, so please check back for updates.
External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.