Preston couple’s training firm Skills4Pharmacy aiming to boost pharmacy apprenticeships

Amerjit and Cordelia Singh founded Skills4Pharmacy in 2015 as a provider of initial education, training, and functional skills for pharmacy apprentices nationwide.

The firm based at Cable Court, Fulwood, has since grown to offer provision of flexible, high-quality training programmes for pharmacy technician and support worker apprenticeship training to UK NHS Trusts and community pharmacies.

They had noted a shortfall in the provision of apprenticeship training. Amerjit, a pharmacist and pharmacy contractor himself, with 25 years’ industry experience was unimpressed with the quality of education and the knowledge that was being imparted to his apprentices at colleges and so the seed for what would become Skills4Pharmacy, was sown.

Pharmacist Amerjit knew exactly what pharmacy owners and managers needed from their apprentices, while Cordelia’s experience in education and the corporate markets allowed them to formulate their plans, initially as a sub-contractor delivering the old level two and three framework qualifications.

Amerjit, in addition to being a pharmacist and pharmacy owner, is a tutor trainer assessor and internal verifier and as the managing director of Skills4Pharmacy, wanted to ensure they delivered the best programs for both student and employer.

Amerjit said: “Cordelia and I wanted to help young people enter into and eventually become the future of our pharmacy industry. Of course Skills4Pharmacy is a business and it needs to work as such, but by providing our vision of pharmacy training and obtaining the very high standards we do, we get to give something back to an industry that is such a big part of our lives”.

In May 2017 Skills4Pharmacy became Register of Approved Training Providers registered.

The RoATP moderates the quality of apprenticeships and provide assurance to learners, employers, and the Government that training via apprenticeship meets the requisite standards.

It has more than 250 students and works with some of the biggest names in the sector, including Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, Day Lewis, Cohens and Jhoots.

But Amerjit believes there is still a lot of work to do within the sector, “Pharmacy as a sector has not yet fully embraced apprenticeships, which is a shame as they have the potential to answer skills shortages, a problem

that needs to be addressed, especially in a sector that has an aging workforce and recruitment challenges”.

Cordelia said: “To have over 250 students is a wonderful achievement, and it’s most gratifying that so many within sector already know and trust the Skills4Pharmacy brand.

“We are constantly exploring ways to improve services, adding greater benefit for learners, partners and employers. We aren’t really the type to sit back on our laurels, there’s always room to improve and grow”.