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Should pharmacists be removed from the Shortage Occupation List?

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By Sadia Naeem

15 Oct 2011

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent advisory body to the UK government. As readers may have read on the Pharmalife website, the MAC has recommended that pharmacists and pre-registration trainee pharmacists (PRTP) be removed from the Shortage Occupation List; the presence of pharmacists on the list allowed non-EEA (European Economic Area) applicants to apply for posts in the UK. In essence, the MAC now believe that supply of pharmacists is outstripping demand and if the government go ahead with the proposal, non-EEA candidates may be liable to reapply for any positions that they currently have an offer for.

One thing that cannot be disputed is the fact that supply exceeded demand a long time ago. Every year, more home students find themselves without a pre-reg position and pharmacists without a job. I know of pharmacists that commute tens of miles to get to their workplace. The days of commuting being a relatively easy task without the extending snakes of cars down Britain's motorways, however, have long gone, making commuting more of a chore than the actual job in some cases. One pharmacist friend of mine, who has been locuming since he qualified just over a year ago, doesn't even own a car; instead, he commutes by bus all over Manchester. As he is originally from Northern Ireland, when I asked why he didn't move back he responded that it's probably harder to get a job there with the annual outpouring of 120+ Queen's graduates into a smaller market (not to mention the recent introduction of pharmacy into the University of Ulster).

At the same time, because the move comes in the middle of the 2012-2013 pre-reg recruitment process a non-EEA applicant's job offer will not be guaranteed to stand if the government proceeds to act on the MAC's advice, even if the offer has been accepted. A Canadian comrade of mine is currently in this very situation, having obtained and accepted an offer for a joint industry and hospital position (which in itself is no mean feat).

I am still unsure as to which stance I take however I'm currently leaning more towards international students' side. Yanking someone's job offer from them after they'd worked hard to achieve it cannot be ethical, especially as we students have had it constantly drilled into us that we cannot accept a job offer only to withdraw after receiving another offer; many hospital pre-reg applicants (including me) found themselves in this harrowing position and one cannot imagine the stress it heaps on.

In summary, I believe that a) these changes should be brought in and b) they should take effect from 2012 so that applicants are aware of it before they apply in order to make other arrangements if necessary.

Sat, 15/10/2011 - 19:22 – Jenna Power

"One thing that cannot be

"One thing that cannot be disputed is the fact that supply exceeded demand a long time ago."

Can't it? If supply indisputably exceeds demand, why did the PJ state in July of this year that 16% of band 6 posts were vacant? (http://www.pjonline.com/news/are_there_any_hospita...)

I am suspicious that the motivation behind removing pharmacy from the shortage occupation list is not so much because pharmacy is doing significantly better in terms of filling posts, but more because the longer the shortage occupation list is, the harder it is to reduce immigration levels (a stated goal of the Coalition). Perhaps I'm being too cynical.

How many people are actually unable to get a pre-reg each year? I'd be curious to see what the numbers are like.

Sun, 16/10/2011 - 13:20 – Sadia Naeem

Jenna, thanks for your

Jenna, thanks for your comment. Let's face it, hardly any pharmacists would remain in a band 6 post for longer than necessary, which is probably why, as the article you mentioned states, band 6 posts are usually the 'problem' level, i.e. difficult to fill. It does say in the article that even band 6 vacancy rates have dropped though and also that these figures were pre-NHS reform. I think we can all agree that post-NHS reform will paint a very different picture.

In answer to your question, I and many others I know of currently don't have a pre-reg secured. A teacher-practitioner at our uni gave us a pre-reg talk this year sometime and gave us a value of students that end up without a pre-reg on average each year. I forget what it was but it shows that it's possible, unfortunately.

Sun, 16/10/2011 - 21:09 – RAHUL BALACHANDRAN

Agree and Disagree

Hi,

I would like to agree completely with Jenna and partially with Sadia in this matter. The fact that employers consider a full time Pharmacist/Pharmacy Manager to take up the vacancy and NOT a locum pharmacist, makes things worse. Looking from the point of view of employers, there is a shortage due to Pharmacists not taking up the full time position which has more responsibilites and comparitively less money, compared to a locum job where more money is paid for the same job with less responsibility. Here what I mean by responsibility is less involvement towards the business side of the pharmacy, not responsibility as a pharmacist. In that case, there is a shortage as evident from the number of full time vacancies advertised in C+D jobs, which is 282 for Community, 9 for Hospital, 231 for Pharmacy Manager, 12 for relief pharmacist (Permanent) at the time of writing this. (Source:http://www.chemistanddruggistjobs.co.uk/).

Regarding Pre-regs, which I am currently, I dont know anybody who wasnt able to secure one and there are still adverts on C+D seeking Pre-regs for immediate placement. I think, the GPhC should stop allowing more OSPAP courses or should completely make OSPAP students aware that after completing the course, there is no guarantee of either a job or visa due to the complexities involved in securing these, but instead 2 more universities were allowed to have OSPAP students. I know I was an OSPAP student, but the struggle after that in securing an appropriate visa and other things does not make things easy.

Pharmacists who are travelling to far off places to work may be doing that either due to genuine lack of vacancies or due to their own personal choice and should not be generalised according to me.

Thanks.

Mon, 17/10/2011 - 11:29 – Stuart Thomas

Agree and disagree

Thanks Rahul.

Regarding citing C&D jobs as a source, can I also list www.pjcareers.com as a source here?

Our current live listings below are exactly that - live, and in most cases were posted within the last month, this can not be said of all C&D jobs.

Those interested in finding a new position - across all sectors can set up 'Job alerts' whereby new listings matching their desired criteria will be emailed directly to the jobseeker.

Our current listings are as below.

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Mon, 24/10/2011 - 13:03 – Helen Middleton

Changes in UKBA policy are outside the control of the employer

The information on the Pharmalife website advises NHS employers to recruit pre-registration trainee pharmacists according to current policies because we do not know if the government will accept the MAC recomendations or not. If the government decide to accept the MAC proposals and remove pharmacists and pre-registration trainee pharmacists from the shortage occupation list there may be a change in policy which could make it difficult for some non-EEA students to obtain a Tier 2 work visa for their pre-registration training.

A possible change in UKBA policy between the time that students are offered pre-registration positions and prior to them starting their training in 2012 is difficult for both the student and the employer. However it must be noted that any changes in UKBA policy are outside the control of the employer.

If pharmacist and pre-registration trainee pharmacist are removed from the shortage occupation list then the UKBA may refuse visa applications because the resident labour market has not been tested. Those who are most likely to be affected by any future changes in policy are OSPAP PgDip graduates (unless they already have a different type visa which enables them to work in the UK for the duration of their pre-registration training).

The UKBA has indicated that those who have graduated with a UK degree will be exempt from a resident labour market test so we think that these students should be able to obtain the necessary visa.

The NHS employers appreciate that it is difficult for students knowing that they have an offer but that it may not be secure. Employers do not want to ''yank someone's job offer from them" but if the UKBA refuse a visa application both the employer and the employee would be breaking the law if the person was working without the necessary visa. If UKBA policy is to change the NHS would aim to do whatever it can to secure the necessary visa for those who have been offered positions.

Helen Middleton

NHS Pre-reg Recruitment Scheme Lead (England & Wales)

Mon, 24/10/2011 - 19:17 – Sadia Naeem

Hi Helen, I understand,

Hi Helen,

I understand, apologies if I came across one-sided, I tried to take all sides into account. I realise that I understood the situation wrongly, I was under the impression that employers could withdraw their offers just because they could if there was a change in the law. Thanks for clarifying.

Sadia.

Mon, 31/10/2011 - 12:18 – Elina Bartasheva

Hello

I am an international student who has already been affected by the whole situation. The hospital I really wanted to work in and worked hard to get a place told me: "We would love to give you a position, but we cannot due to the whole visa issue". And that was after three weeks of me waiting to hear from them while they were discussing everything with HR department.

I agree that if goverment wants to reduce number of non-EU students coming to work in UK, it has every right to change the law... BUT it shouldn't affect people who are in their final year of pharmacy degree after spending over £60,000 on their studies! If I knew that I would be unable to become a pharmacist at the end of it I wouldn't have chosen to do pharmacy in UK at all!

Sorry for being to passionate about this whole topic.. it's just very upsetting that after all my hard work I am treated unfairly (in my opinion).