Participating in National Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Recruitment 2024 (2025 intake) via Oriel
You are invited to participate in the 2024 National Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Recruitment Scheme to recruit into your Foundation Training programme(s) for the 2025-26 training year.
A national recruitment and selection scheme for foundation trainee pharmacist programmes, utilising the Oriel IT platform, was adopted by Health Education England in 2017 and since then it has been used for foundation trainee pharmacist recruitment. Oriel has been used for the recruitment of dentists, doctors and healthcare scientists for many years and for pharmacy recruitment for the last 6 years.
Applicants to the scheme are required to complete one application form for foundation training and to preference foundation training programmes they wish to be considered for, as part of the recruitment process. The Oriel IT platform allows all training sites to equally advertise the unique qualities of their training programme(s) to attract applicants to preference them as part of their application.
As there have historically been more training places available nationally than there are potential trainees to fill them, it is very important that employers take the opportunity to provide accurate and comprehensive information in their programme description (please note there is a character limit) for each programme they wish to include in the scheme, to guide applicants with their preferencing choices on Oriel.
Significant changes have been implemented for the 2025 foundation training year in line with the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists reform programme mandated by the GPhC. This means that recruiting via Oriel will be the only route to employing a foundation trainee pharmacist for the 2025-26 foundation training year.
Employer Guidance
Participating in the National Recruitment Scheme does not guarantee that your programme(s) will fill, as there have historically been more training places available than potential trainees to fill them. You can update your knowledge of the scheme by reading the Employer Handbook which contains step-by-step guidance on completing your employer programme submission form(s), a recruitment timeline and regional contact support details.
We have developed a short video to support employers with registering to participate in the National Recruitment Scheme, this is available to watch from the Employer Registration page.
You may find it helpful to see information submitted by employers in 2023 by viewing the ‘Pharmacy Employers and Programme Information from 2023 document available on the Employer Information page of our website. Please note that some of this information uses terminology which has now changed following GPhC reforms to the initial education and training of pharmacists in 2021.
Signing up to the Scheme
We strongly advise you to read the Employer Handbook before deciding whether to be part of the scheme.
You also need to read the Terms of Participation of the National Recruitment Scheme as you will be asked to sign up to the NHS England Terms of Participation, and adhere to the Health Education England Quality Framework as part of the registration process. of the registration process
If you wish to be part of 2024 national recruitment for the 2025-26 training year, you will need to complete an online registration form for each programme you wish to include in the scheme and provide employer programme information (see below website link).
To make your employer programme submission please access the online form via the following link:
https://www.lasepharmacy.hee.nhs.uk/national-recruitment/employer-registration
Please note the form contains progressive filtering, so we advise you to take your time to ensure you select the correct options particularly regarding your locality. You may also want to consider writing your programme description (950 characters including spaces) in Word before completing the form, as the form cannot be saved during completion.
Before submitting your employer programme submission form(s) we strongly advise you to read the guidance, paying particular attention to our advice on writing your programme description(s), as this is your main opportunity to promote your programme(s) to potential trainees.
Once you have submitted your form, you will receive an email from noreply@holograph.digital with a copy of your submission, please check your junk mail folder if you can’t see this email.
If you will be submitting multiple forms for multiple programmes (one form completion per programme) it is advisable to keep a track of which ones you have submitted and ensure you do not submit a programme which you do not plan to recruit to.
Submission Deadline
The deadline to submit your form(s) is 11.59pm on 1st March 2024. Please note late submissions will not be accepted.
For all further information please refer to the Employer Handbook.
Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists (IETP): Further Information
Hertfordshire and West Essex (HWE) Integrated Care Board (ICB) is hosting an evening webinar on Monday, 5 February 19.00-20.30pm which will outline key information for all pharmacy sectors. We would strongly suggest you attend this event if you are considering hosting a foundation trainee pharmacist in 2025/26. Further information and booking details are on the CPH website.
