jobfacts

Dispensing optician

Dispensing opticians — SOC 2020 3211

Dispensing opticians supply, fit and service spectacles, contact lenses and other optical aids in accordance with a prescription from an optician or optometrist.

Also calledContact lens opticianOptical dispenserDispenserOphthalmic technicianContact lens fitter
Typical full-time pay£28,5002025 Provisional
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month246↓ 25%on last year · 329th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time dispensing opticians earn, 2025
£28,500 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£28,500
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £28,500
North West!£27,300
South West!£27,200
South East!£23,300
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £28,500
North West£27,300 (small sample)
South West£27,200 (small sample)
South East£23,300 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £27,000
  • 2024 £27,500
  • 2025 Provisional£28,500
↑ 5.8% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 246 jobs for dispensing opticians are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026196
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 2026207
May 2026288
Apr 2026300
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026229
Jan 2026356
Dec 2025142
Nov 2025239
Oct 2025239
Sept 2025268
Aug 2025214
Jul 2025249
Jun 2025363
May 2025373
Apr 2025371
Mar 2025342
Feb 2025295
Jan 2025325
Dec 2024321
Nov 2024280
Oct 2024365
Sept 2024356
Aug 2024313
Jul 2024421
Jun 2024316
May 2024405
Apr 2024536
Mar 2024274
Feb 2024197
Jan 2024289
Dec 2023352
Nov 2023222
Oct 2023330
Sept 2023223
Aug 2023290
Jul 2023309
Jun 2023424
May 2023667
Apr 2023316
Mar 2023712
Feb 2023402
Jan 2023863
Dec 2022598
Nov 2022650
Oct 2022416
Sept 2022651
Aug 2022525
Jul 2022391
Jun 2022452
May 2022359
Apr 2022198
Mar 2022190
Feb 2022258
Jan 2022347
Dec 2021183
Nov 2021461
Oct 2021264
Sept 2021297
Aug 2021380
Jul 2021237
Jun 2021206
May 2021221
Apr 2021154
Mar 2021226
Feb 2021216
Jan 2021161
Dec 2020171
Nov 2020137
Oct 2020218
Sept 2020133
Aug 2020120
Jul 202090
Jun 202089
May 202069
Apr 2020126
Mar 2020458
Feb 2020730
Jan 2020666
Dec 2019199
Nov 2019571
Oct 2019475
Sept 2019515
Aug 2019521
Jul 2019505
Jun 2019726
May 20191,039
Apr 2019735
Mar 2019833
Feb 2019840
Jan 2019467
Dec 2018521
Nov 2018693
Oct 2018706
Sept 2018420
Aug 2018285
Jul 2018405
Jun 2018333
May 2018717
Apr 2018434
Mar 2018416
Feb 2018675
Jan 2018464
Dec 2017239
Nov 2017575
Oct 2017227
Sept 2017394
Aug 2017357
Jul 2017172
Jun 2017257
May 2017501
Apr 2017343
Mar 2017358
Feb 2017288
Jan 2017353
Is there a shortage of dispensing opticians?
Not high

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

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • 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 dispensing opticians. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London111
Sheffield14
Manchester13
Buckinghamshire13
Somerset11
Woking11
Birmingham9
Milton Keynes9
Nottingham9
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole9
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where dispensing opticians are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of dispensing opticians
n/p
n/p
12%!
n/p
n/p
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–4412% (small sample)
45–54Not published
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!55%
Higher education below degree!25%
A levels or equivalent!46%
GCSEs or equivalent–
Not published
Other qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent55% (small sample)
Higher education below degree25% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent46% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalentNot published
Other qualificationsNot published

Main employers: other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (107%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
55%
as their highest qualification
Registration
GOC
required to practise: General Optical Council (GOC)
Apprenticeships
1
from level 6
Apprenticeships take
3 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

To qualify as a dispensing optician, you must complete a degree course approved by the General Optical Council.

You'll also need to pass the professional qualifying exams by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO).

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, including a science

Apprenticeship

You may be able to apply for a place on a Dispensing Optician Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship, with a commercial optician.

This can take 3 years to complete. It's equivalent to degree level and leads to a professional qualification.

Entry requirements

To do this apprenticeship, you'll need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship

Work your way up

If you're working in an optician practice, as an assistant or optical technician, you may be able to do training on the job through an apprenticeship or part-time degree course. You'll need the support of your employer to do this.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

If you're a student, you'll need to register as a student with the General Optical Council before you do any clinical support work.

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need to be registered with the General Optical Council
Career tips

You might find it helpful to get some experience in an optician before you apply to study. You can see how to find work experience from the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO).

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) for professional development and training opportunities.

Further information

You can learn more about a career as a dispensing optician from the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) and the General Optical Council.

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

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 6About 3 years

Dispensing optician

You gain
A qualification approved by the GOC to enable professional registration with the GOC as…
Registration
General Optical Council (GOC)
Employers may ask for
Apprentices without Level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care…
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

  • interprets prescription and measures patient’s face to determine distance between pupil centres, height of bridge of nose, etc.
  • advises patient on lens type and choice of spectacle frames
  • prepares detailed instructions for workshop
  • ensures that completed spectacles conform to specification and fit the patient correctly and comfortably
  • fits spectacles and advises patient on lens care and any other difficulties likely to be experienced

Skills

  • accept own accountability
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • adjust eyeglasses to fit customers
  • advise customers on eyewear maintenance
  • advise on contact lense maintenance
  • advise on healthcare users' informed consent
  • apply context specific clinical competences
  • apply health sciences
  • apply numeracy skills
  • apply organisational techniques
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • comply with optical prescriptions
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
  • contribute to continuity of health care

Knowledge

  • eye protection regulations
  • health care legislation
  • optical glass characteristics
  • optical instruments
  • quality standards of ophthalmic equipment

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health and social care associate professionals, a group of 13 jobs that includes dispensing opticians.
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.