Level 2: Pharmacy Services Assistant

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At a glance:

The CoreEd Level 2: Pharmacy Services Assistant Apprenticeship develops practical skills, professional behaviours, and essential knowledge for those beginning their career in pharmacy.

Duration: 12 Months

EPA: 3 Months

Roles Include: Pharmacy Dispenser, Medicine Counter Assistant, Pharmacy Assistant

Professional Advice

Tailored Programmes

Highly Qualified Tutors

Expert Coaching

Level 2: Pharmacy Services Assistant

Start your healthcare career where it matters most, directly helping patients every day. In just 12-15 months, you’ll gain the skills, knowledge, and nationally recognised qualification to become a vital part of pharmacy teams in hospitals, high street pharmacies, or healthcare settings. Earn while you learn, make a real difference to people’s wellbeing, and open the door to a rewarding career with genuine progression opportunities.

Build a career that goes beyond the pharmacy counter.
This apprenticeship develops the hands on dispensing skills, patient care expertise, and professional behaviours you need to succeed in any pharmacy environment. Whether you’re drawn to the fast pace of community pharmacies, the specialist care of hospital settings, the public service of prison healthcare, or the patient focused work of GP practices this qualification opens every door.

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What you’ll learn

Our course will equip you with a range of Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours, including:

  • Dispensing and supply of medicines and medicinal products, safe handling of medicines, and effective dispensing practice
  • Pharmacy law and ethics, such as governance policy and standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • Health and safety in the workplace, including the importance of following SOPs and keeping others safe
  • How to become an effective team member
  • Different styles of communication and barriers to communication

This apprenticeship is designed to give you the confidence, knowledge, and key behaviours required to excel in a pharmacy setting. You will develop a comprehensive range of skills, including delivering person-centred care, effective teamwork, and adhering to health and safety standards. 
As a learner, you will become fully equipped to handle dispensing processes and the issuing of prescribed medicines. You will also develop ordering, receipt, and safe storage of pharmaceutical stock knowledge, skills and behaviours.

By the end of the apprenticeship, you will be able to provide high-quality support in a pharmacy setting and contribute meaningfully to patient care.

Entry requirements

CoreEd Training has rigorous entry criteria for learners wishing to enrol on this course. These include:

  • Preferred GCSEs in English and Maths at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C)
  • Level 1 English and Maths Functional Skills
  • Residency in the UK/EEA/EU for the last 3 years and the ability to remain in the UK for the duration of the apprenticeship
  • The ability to meet programme modules through the job role Learners without English and Maths GCSEs or Level 2 Functional Skills will need to complete additional Functional Skills learning. Functional Skills support learning at Level 2. CoreEd Training strongly advises learners to complete these qualifications if they do not already have them.

Our Pharmacy Services Assistant apprenticeship takes 15 months in total:

  • An additional 3 months to complete the end-point assessment (EPA)
  • 12 months to complete the learning

Learners will be assigned a dedicated skills tutor and will receive access to Aptem, our e-portfolio system. Digital resource modules will be accessed here and will be complemented by taught virtual learning sessions.

You will have regular contact with your skills tutor and will take part in progress reviews throughout the duration of the apprenticeship. CoreEd Training will facilitate contact either face-to-face or via Microsoft Teams.

The end-point assessment (EPA) is the final stage of the apprenticeship. You will be supported to prepare for it throughout the duration of the course by completing your portfolio, gathering evidence, taking part in mock discussions, and learning how the Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours (KSBs) link to your workplace role.

Once all mandatory elements of the course have been completed, you will go through the Gateway process. This is a formal readiness check; a meeting between you, your employer, and your skills tutor to decide whether you are ready to take the EPA. If agreed, you will enter the EPA period.

The EPA consists of:

  • Case study
  • Direct observation
  • Professional discussion

An independent assessor will determine your grade, awarding either a Pass or Distinction.

Qualification

On completion of the programme, you will be awarded a Level 2 Pharmacy Assistant Standard through Highfields awarding body.

Additionally, you will receive a medicine counter assistant course that is regulated by the GPhC if working within a community pharmacy setting.

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Blended learning

The course content will be delivered through a blended approach, which includes:

Taught Learning Sessions

As a learner, you will attend webinars and Microsoft Teams calls.

Digital Learning

Aptem is your online portfolio, where digital learning resources can be accessed and skills journals uploaded.

Additional Offline Learning

Alongside digital learning, some materials may need to be printed, completed offline, and then uploaded to Aptem as evidence.

Career Guidance

Our dedicated in-house careers lead provides personalised guidance throughout your journey.

For learners aged 16-18

It is mandatory to either already hold, or be able to work towards and achieve, the required English and Maths qualifications as part of the apprenticeship. These must be completed prior to gateway in order to complete the qualification.

For learners aged 19
and over

It is recommended that applicants hold GCSE English and Maths at Grade C/4 or above (or an equivalent qualification). If evidence of prior achievement is not available at enrolment, learn­ers may choose to complete these subjects separately through CoreEd, with full funding and support provided.

While English and Maths are optional for adult learners to enrol onto this apprenticeship, com­pleting them is strongly advised – particularly for those intending to progress to a higher-lev­el qualification in the future.

Learners cannot sit their end-point assessment until they have achieved the required Functional Skills level.