Brisbane job seekers get another opportunity to retrain and join community pharmacies

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland Branch, is encouraging eligible job seekers in Brisbane to retrain to work on the frontline within community pharmacies as pharmacy assistants.

Following the successful course in August, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is delivering another Queensland Government’s Community Work Skills Program in Brisbane beginning on Monday 11 October 2021. The Queensland Government funds the training through its Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

The course allows students to acquire the essential skills needed to provide healthcare in community pharmacy, and, on successful completion, participants will receive a SIR20116 Certificate II in Community Pharmacy.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland Branch’s President, Chris Owen, said the fully-funded program offered an excellent opportunity for community members to join the pharmacy profession.

“We are delighted that we’re able to give people a chance to participate in this Program and begin a new career path in community pharmacy,” said Mr. Owen. “There has been a lot of interest in previous cohorts of the Program.”

“I have heard many stories from participants who have endured the lockdowns and become unemployed because of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – this program offers a unique opportunity to retrain and upskill to become a pharmacy assistant.”

Mr. Owen said that many participants have already benefited from the program.

Johnathon (Johnno) Trumper is one of those participants. Johnno had worked in the hospitality industry for over six years and because of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry, he commenced looking for other work.

Johnno’s mother and stepfather both work in the pharmacy industry and he chose to follow in the same direction and applied for the Community Work Skills Program in August 2021.

“So far, we’ve had over 150 Queenslanders complete the course in the last 12 months, and many of these participants are now employed in Queensland’s network of almost 1,200 community pharmacies,” Mr. Owen said.

After a successful completion of the Program, Johnno secured a full-time position with TerryWhite Chemmart working across two locations. Johnno’s goal is to become a dispensary technician and he is looking to enrol in further study in community pharmacy in the future.

The seven-week face-to-face course is COVID-Safe and will be delivered in Brisbane from Monday 11 October to Friday 26 November 2021. The Program incorporates vocational placement in a community pharmacy to solidify the new skills learnt.

“Spaces are limited, and registrations close on Friday 8 October 2021. For more information about the Community Work Skills Program and eligibility criteria, visit www.guild.org.au/cws.”