Why Offering Pharmacy Technician Training And Certification Is Crucial

The healthcare field has faced many challenges over the last five years, making the need for qualified healthcare professionals more dire. While things may have calmed down some since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, roles like pharmacy technicians are still as important as ever. In fact, there are about 47,000 job openings on average each year. It’s the perfect time to bolster your course offerings with pharmacy technician training that can provide a pathway to employment and certification for your students and clients.

The growing need for skilled pharmacy technicians

With a projected growth of 7% by 2033 combined with an aging population and an increase of chronic conditions in need of medication, more skilled pharmacy technicians are needed to assist pharmacists and patients in retail, hospital, and mail-in pharmacies.

Pharmacies today handle more than just medication dispensing. They play a critical role in community health, offering services like medication therapy management, health screenings, and counseling. As pharmacists take on expanded responsibilities, pharmacy technicians are essential for managing daily operations, from preparing prescriptions to maintaining accurate records. This evolution in pharmacy services has created opportunities for skilled technicians to step into more specialized and impactful roles.

The problem many pharmacies and organizations face when hiring is a skill gap in applicants. Your org can help fill these gaps by partnering with a training program that can help prepares its learners for certification. Through a digital training program, you’ll be able to get your team members the knowledge and skills they need without having to scale back their hours, since online training can be done anywhere, anytime.

What makes a pharmacy technician qualified

The requirements to work as a pharmacy technician vary by state. Usually a high school diploma or equivalent is necessary, and the age requirement is 18 in most states. Some areas may require certification and licensure, but even when a state doesn’t, these credentials can help set applicants apart. If you wish to hire from within, helping your employees gain certification can benefit your org and boost employee satisfaction.

Whether or not your state requires formal training and education in the role, having techs who are already knowledgeable and ready to work will speed the onboarding process. That’s why providing pharmacy technician training is more crucial than ever right now. But can training programs allow for the quick turnaround needed to staff pharmacies while still building essential skills and preparing learners for certification? Some digital training programs absolutely can.

Read more: How Long Does It Take to Become a Pharmacy Technician?

Benefits of offering training and certification to your organization

When you offer training and certification opportunities to your employees, you’re able to build a talent pipeline. Creating a steady stream of qualified candidates and reducing reliance on external hiring can help improve moral, engagement, and retention. It can also increase your desirability as an employer, since many employees currently in the workforce value career advancement.

There are also financial and operational benefits to offering training and certification. With the opportunity to gain new credentials, you might see an increase in productivity from your current employees. There’s also potential for long-term ROI (return on investment) as a result of investing in employee development.

Read more: Preparing Learners for Success: The Role of Certification in Higher Education

Current trends in the pharm tech industry

Like many industries, change is on the horizon for pharmacy technicians. Current trends include:

• Expansion of roles and responsibilities
• Integration of technology and automation
• Emphasis on specialized training and certification
• Growing demand and employment opportunities
• Shift towards clinical services

Because pharmacies are expanding their services to include clinical offerings such as health screenings and chronic disease management, pharm techs are going to be needed to support these services.

Read more: Future Trends In Healthcare Training

How to get started with a training and certification program

Launching a training initiative doesn’t have to be difficult. You’ll want to provide a clear pathway for certification so workers know it is worth their while. Collaborating with an education partner can supply you with the tools and resources to be able to do this. For aspiring pharm techs, this can include training programs that help prepare learners for certification to help ensure you’ll have credentialed workers.

Jesie Davenport, a CareerStep Academic Team Lead for the Pharmacy Technician Program, explains that “The pharmacy technician field is evolving to require more advanced certifications, like immunizations and sterile compounding, which shows how important continued education is.” Aiding your employees in obtaining their certification can only benefit you.

Read more: Emerging Roles In Healthcare

Rapidly prepare learners to take on vital roles in pharmacies

The healthcare field is always changing and evolving. The world of pharmacy technicians is transforming, so the opportunity to train and sit for the PTCE and ExCPT exams can be a crucial step in helping to prepare your workers for what’s to come. With online training programs like CareerStep, your employees will get the training they need from a flexible, self-paced program that includes required hands-on externships to help prepare them for the job.

If you think partnering with an online training program could benefit your organization as well as your employees, you can request more information about CareerStep!