Community Pharmacy Workforce – Technicians

NHS England are pleased to announce the launch of the Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme (CPTAP) for 2026.

This programme allows the opportunity for funded support to facilitate Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians (PTPT’s) to be employed and complete and two year apprenticeship training programme within a community pharmacy setting. On successful completion of training and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPHC), pharmacy technicians will be well placed to support service delivery and wider healthcare priorities within community pharmacy.

What is included in this funding offer

NHS England are offering a financial training contribution of £15,505 per PTPT, per year for the two year training period.

This contribution supports sites in developing an employer-led, work-based training programme that meets GPhC initial education and training (IET) standards for pharmacy technicians and the NHS England Education quality framework (accessed via the National School of Healthcare Science Website).

Next Steps 

Full details for contractors are available in the contractor guidance documents. These can be accessed as both a PDF and an accessible Word document.

The contractor guidance outlines how the programme works, including who is eligible to take part, the key timescales, available funding, and the benefits for community pharmacies.

Application of Funding (AoF) requests must be submitted via the Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme (CPTAP) 2026 East of England online application form. The application window will open on Monday 27th April 2026 at 9am, until Monday 18th May 2026, at midday.

 

We strongly recommend engaging with this offer and attending one of the below information sessions. 

 

National stakeholder engagement sessions will be held via MS Teams to provide initial information on the launch of the funding offer. Use the link below to register your attendance for your preferred date. You only need to attend one session.

Tuesday 21st April, 12pm to 12.30pm – Register here

Thursday 23rd April, 8pm to 8.30pm  – Register here

Regional stakeholder engagement sessions will take place from Monday 27th April, and will be held via MS Teams to provide further information on the programme, including the application process and how to access apprenticeship funding. Use the link below to register your attendance for your preferred date. You only need to attend one session.

Tuesday 28rd April, 8.30am to 9am – Register here

Tuesday 28rd April, 12.00noon to 12.30pm – Register here

Tuesday 28rd April, 8pm – 8.30pm – Register here

Guidance to support completion of an application, along with further programme information, is available on NHSE Workforce and Training website.

 

Key Contact

If you have any questions, please email england.wtepharmacy.eoe@nhs.net with “Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme 2026” in the subject field.

Supervision and Delegation Changes (2026)

Further legislative changes coming into force during 2026 will support greater flexibility in how pharmacy teams operate:

• From January 2026 – Pharmacy Technicians can authorise pharmacy teams to handout clinically checked and bagged prescriptions.

Further CPE materials to support pharmacy teams and raise aware this change, are available.

• From 10 December 2026 – Pharmacy Technicians may take on expanded responsibilities in supervising dispensing activities and supporting the safe supply of medicines, under the supervision of a Pharmacist.  (Medicines Act 1968, Section 10 and 10A and Human Medicines Regulations 2012, Regulation 220A)

These changes aim to better utilise the full skill mix within community pharmacy and support increased delivery of clinical services.

What This Means for Community Pharmacy 

These developments create opportunities to:

• Increase service capacity and efficiency
• Deliver more services simultaneously
• Improve patient access to care
• Enable pharmacists to focus on clinical roles
• Strengthen workforce resilience

While these opportunities are significant, awareness and adoption vary currently. Some contractors may remain cautious about investing in Pharmacy Technician development due to previous workforce challenges. However, the evolving regulatory landscape provides a clearer and more sustainable opportunity to maximise the contribution of Pharmacy Technicians within community pharmacy teams.

The full text of the Human Medicines Regulations document can be accessed online.

Please see below outline of the current Patient Group Directives (PGD’s) and non-PGD services that registered Pharmacy Technicians are able to work under.

 

Nationally Commissioned Services:

PGD:

Flu Vaccinations

COVID-19 Vaccinations

National Contraception Service Inclusive of Emergency Contraception

 

Non-PGD:

Hypertension Case-Finding Service

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM)

Smoking Cessation (Post-hospital discharge support)

Lateral Flow Testing (LFT)

Supporting with Discharge Medicines Service (DMS)

 

Locally Commissioned Services:

PGD:

Stop smoking service commissioned by Herts County Council.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) Supply.

Non-PGD:

Condom Supply

Dual Testing Kit Supply

 

Additional Activities within the Pharmacy Setting:
• Leadership and team coordination
• Accuracy checking, if currently training or done additional training already.
• Training and mentoring of staff, including pre-registration pharmacy technician trainees (PTPTs)
• Medicines reconciliation; Plus Private service provision such as ear wax removal and many others.

CPPE are offering training to empower pharmacy technicians to confidently and competently apply their skills and knowledge when using Patient Group Directions (PGDs) to deliver NHS services, including contraception, emergency contraception, and smoking cessation services.

Learning outcomes

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• demonstrate professional responsibility with increased confidence when delivering NHS services, including supplying or administering medicines using a PGD
• apply the regulatory framework for PGDs to practical scenarios
• integrate person-centred care and shared decision-making principles into clinical consultations
• identify situations where referral to other healthcare professionals would be appropriate, when working under PGDs
• build a collaborative peer support network to share best practice in service delivery
• formulate and implement practical strategies to deliver NHS services confidently and competently using PGDs

 

All registration-related information is available on myGPhC – Home.

To support new or returning registrants with the revalidation cycle GPhC have produced the revalidation framework. This document explains the cycle in full, with detailed descriptions of how the process runs for registrants as well as what they are required to submit, which includes descriptions of the core criteria required.

Registered Pharmacy Technicians are required to:

• Complete Continuing Professional Development (CPD), submit annually.

• Pay an annual registration fee.

Re-Registration of a Pharmacy Technician

All registration-related information is available on myGPhC – Home.

The GPhC Returning to the register | General Pharmaceutical Council page provides information on different returning criteria as well as any applicable documents that are required to rejoin.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Cycles

What Are the Stages of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Cycle?

The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) cycle is a structured process designed to support lifelong learning. It consists of five key phases that help guide professionals through planning and managing their development goals each year.

Stage 1 – Assessing Your Development Needs

This initial stage involves recognising areas where your skills or knowledge may be lacking. By conducting a self-evaluation or needs assessment, you can pinpoint specific competencies to enhance. This forms the foundation for setting your learning goals for the year.

Stage 2 – Creating a Development Plan

After identifying your areas for improvement, the next step is to set clear, targeted objectives. This involves outlining the types of learning activities that will help address your professional development needs and support your broader career goals.

Stage 3 – Engaging in Learning Activities

This phase focuses on participating in educational experiences such as CPD-accredited training, workshops, webinars, or online courses. The aim is to build knowledge and skills in the areas identified during your self-assessment.

Stage 4 – Evaluating What You’ve Learned

After completing a learning activity, it’s essential to review and evaluate its impact. Ask yourself: What did I gain from this experience? What new skills or knowledge did I acquire? How can I apply this to my role? This reflection ensures your learning translates into meaningful professional growth.

Stage 5 – Applying New Knowledge and Skills

The final stage involves putting your newly gained insights into action within your job role. This step completes the CPD cycle by ensuring your learning contributes directly to improved performance and career development.

Unlock your potential using 3 simple steps

Pharmacy Technician Revalidation

GPHC Annual reaccreditation submissions consist of 4 CPD, of which two must be planned, 1 peer discussion and 1 reflective account.

UPDATE 4/11/25 Standards for revalidation reflective account set for 2026 -The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) have announced that from 1 January 2026, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can select any of the nine standards for pharmacy professionals for their revalidation reflective account. The same requirements regarding reflection against one of more of the standards is required.

Along with our examples page we have a page with links associated to the annual renewal process and a revalidation resources page that can direct you to our FAQs as well as the different revalidation record templates, which may be helpful for someone to use when recording their evidence. Revalidation examples | General Pharmaceutical Council

CPPE are recognised as providing a multitude of learning resources that are free to access.

NHS learning hub may offer free access sessions that might be of interest to new learners as well.

A further resource that is free for pre-registration pharmacy technicians to access is membership to the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK). Whilst registered pharmacy technicians are required to pay an annual fee to be part of APTUK, pre-registration pharmacy technicians are provided free access to their resources during their training.

Following training you may need to complete a declaration of competence for some services. This can enable your employer and or the commissioner to access your training record.

CPPE DECLARATION OF COMPETENCE GUIDE