jobfacts

Pharmacy technician

Pharmaceutical technicians — SOC 2020 3212

Pharmaceutical technicians work in hospitals or in the community and assist pharmacists in the preparation and dispensing of drugs and medicines.

Also calledPharmaceutical technicianDispensing technicianAccuracy checking technicianMedicines management technicianAccredited checking technicianAccuracy checking pharmacy technicianand 3 more titles
Typical full-time pay£31,0002025 Provisional
People in the job24,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month659↓ 31%on last year · 236th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time pharmacy technicians earn between £26,700 and £36,800 a year.

What full-time pharmacy technicians earn, 2025
£31,000 typical£23,100lowest 10%£26,70025%£36,80075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£26,700–£36,800)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£23,100
Lowest 20% earn less than£25,800
25%£26,700
Median£31,000
75%£36,800
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £31,000
Scotland!£32,600
London!£32,500
Yorkshire and The Humber!£31,600
South East!£31,200
South West!£30,500
North West!£28,500
North East!£27,700
East Midlands!£27,400
East of England!£26,800
West Midlands!£23,000
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £31,000
Scotland£32,600 (small sample)
London£32,500 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£31,600 (small sample)
South East£31,200 (small sample)
South West£30,500 (small sample)
North West£28,500 (small sample)
North East£27,700 (small sample)
East Midlands£27,400 (small sample)
East of England£26,800 (small sample)
West Midlands£23,000 (small sample)
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £27,800
  • 2024 £30,300
  • 2025 Provisional£31,000
↑ 12% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 659 jobs for pharmacy technicians are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026652
Jul 2026637
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026625
Apr 2026636
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026617
Jan 2026701
Dec 2025362
Nov 2025756
Oct 2025749
Sept 2025850
Aug 2025851
Jul 2025965
Jun 2025903
May 20251,051
Apr 2025897
Mar 2025962
Feb 2025947
Jan 20251,115
Dec 2024788
Nov 2024993
Oct 2024924
Sept 20241,047
Aug 2024994
Jul 20241,195
Jun 20241,141
May 20241,119
Apr 20241,107
Mar 2024948
Feb 2024922
Jan 20241,160
Dec 2023842
Nov 20231,250
Oct 2023968
Sept 2023861
Aug 2023946
Jul 20231,197
Jun 20231,280
May 20231,315
Apr 20231,037
Mar 20231,241
Feb 20231,191
Jan 20231,329
Dec 20221,083
Nov 20221,317
Oct 20221,440
Sept 20221,330
Aug 20221,167
Jul 20221,153
Jun 20221,163
May 20221,343
Apr 20221,081
Mar 20221,196
Feb 20221,137
Jan 20221,220
Dec 2021860
Nov 20211,173
Oct 20211,123
Sept 2021961
Aug 2021990
Jul 20211,131
Jun 2021956
May 2021957
Apr 2021792
Mar 2021983
Feb 2021794
Jan 2021913
Dec 2020844
Nov 2020920
Oct 20201,017
Sept 2020879
Aug 2020687
Jul 2020729
Jun 2020838
May 2020690
Apr 2020513
Mar 2020716
Feb 2020896
Jan 2020733
Dec 2019625
Nov 2019689
Oct 2019722
Sept 2019658
Aug 2019690
Jul 2019809
Jun 2019829
May 2019788
Apr 2019564
Mar 2019609
Feb 2019589
Jan 2019646
Dec 2018545
Nov 2018735
Oct 2018687
Sept 2018660
Aug 2018726
Jul 2018697
Jun 2018637
May 2018712
Apr 2018542
Mar 2018630
Feb 2018543
Jan 2018645
Dec 2017379
Nov 2017568
Oct 2017502
Sept 2017481
Aug 2017505
Jul 2017516
Jun 2017560
May 2017546
Apr 2017529
Mar 2017556
Feb 2017485
Jan 2017459
Is there a shortage of pharmacy technicians?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
52%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for health and social care associate professionals, which includes pharmacy technicians. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London398
Liverpool57
Birmingham49
Manchester37
Chelmsford36
Sheffield29
Bristol, City of27
Leeds27
Cambridge26
North Yorkshire25
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where pharmacy technicians are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 19 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, ranking it 184th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of pharmacy technicians
n/p
26%!
34%!
24%!
16%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3426% (small sample)
35–4434% (small sample)
45–5424% (small sample)
55–6416% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!17%
Higher education below degree!13%
A levels or equivalent59%
GCSEs or equivalent!14%
Other qualifications–
Not published
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent17% (small sample)
Higher education below degree13% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent59%
GCSEs or equivalent14% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: dispensing chemist in specialised stores (39%), hospital activities (30%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (20%), other human health activities (6.5%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
17%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 59%
Registration
General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
required to practise: General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
Apprenticeships
1
from level 3
Apprenticeships take
2 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

Apprenticeship

You could do a Pharmacy Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

You can also train to be a pharmacy technician through an apprenticeship with the NHS or the armed forces.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Work your way up

You can apply for a trainee pharmacy technician position and learn on the job.

Employers will often ask for 4 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English, maths and science, Level 2 Diploma in Applied Science, or equivalent qualifications.

You'll do on-the-job training over 2 years and work towards a Level 3 Diploma in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Professional and industry bodies

Once qualified you can join the Association of Pharmacy Technicians for continuous professional development.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a pharmacy technician from Health Careers and the Association of Pharmacy Technicians.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for pharmacy technician. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 3About 2 years

Pharmacy technician (integrated)

You gain
GPhC recognised Pharmacy Technician qualification; GPhC accredited Pharmacy Technician programme
Registration
General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • checks received prescriptions for legality and accuracy
  • prepares drugs and medicines under the supervision of pharmacist
  • prepares specialised, tailor-made drugs for intravenous administration by hospital medical staff
  • labels and checks items prior to dispensing
  • maintains records of prescriptions received and drugs issued
  • advises patients or customers on the use of drugs prescribed or medication purchased over the counter
  • checks stock levels, orders new stock from pharmaceutical companies and ensures that drugs are stored appropriately

Skills

  • accept own accountability
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • advise on healthcare users' informed consent
  • apply organisational techniques
  • check information on prescriptions
  • communicate by telephone
  • communicate effectively in healthcare
  • communicate with customers
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
  • contribute to continuity of health care
  • deal with emergency care situations
  • empathise with the healthcare user
  • ensure quality assurance for pharmaceutical products

Knowledge

  • medicines for self-medication

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Practical, hands-on work

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health and social care associate professionals, a group of 13 jobs that includes pharmacy technicians.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 12%about 82,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035492,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.