jobfacts

Pharmacy assistant

Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants — SOC 2020 7114

Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants work under the supervision of pharmacists and opticians or optometrists to dispense drugs and medicines, issue pre-packaged prescriptions, sell over-the-counter medication, dispense spectacles and contact lenses and other related products.

Also calledChemist’s assistantDispensing assistantHealth care partnerOptician's assistantOptometrist’s assistantCustomer assistantand 46 more titles
Typical full-time pay£23,8002025 Provisional
People in the job85,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,800↓ 5.3%on last year · 104th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time pharmacy assistants earn, 2025
£23,800 typical£19,300lowest 10%£21,50025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£19,300
Lowest 20% earn less than£20,600
25%£21,500
Median£23,800
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £23,800
East of England£24,700
North West£24,500
South East£23,900
South West!£23,500
Wales!£23,300
London!£23,200
West Midlands£23,100
East Midlands£23,100
Scotland!£23,000
Yorkshire and The Humber!£22,000
North East!£20,200
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £23,800
East of England£24,700
North West£24,500
South East£23,900
South West£23,500 (small sample)
Wales£23,300 (small sample)
London£23,200 (small sample)
West Midlands£23,100
East Midlands£23,100
Scotland£23,000 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£22,000 (small sample)
North East£20,200 (small sample)
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £20,900
  • 2024 £22,400
  • 2025 Provisional£23,800
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,800 jobs for pharmacy assistants 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 (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,668
Jul 20261,869
Jun 20261,711
May 20262,008
Apr 20262,008
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,766
Jan 20262,101
Dec 2025924
Nov 20252,123
Oct 20251,917
Sept 20252,003
Aug 20251,858
Jul 20251,862
Jun 20252,135
May 20252,235
Apr 20251,859
Mar 20252,158
Feb 20251,946
Jan 20252,012
Dec 20241,277
Nov 20241,731
Oct 20242,105
Sept 20242,203
Aug 20242,269
Jul 20242,573
Jun 20242,331
May 20242,959
Apr 20242,640
Mar 20241,808
Feb 20241,984
Jan 20242,048
Dec 20231,339
Nov 20231,725
Oct 20231,663
Sept 20231,491
Aug 20231,833
Jul 20231,827
Jun 20232,937
May 20233,264
Apr 20232,359
Mar 20232,997
Feb 20232,408
Jan 20233,017
Dec 20222,745
Nov 20222,991
Oct 20223,032
Sept 20222,931
Aug 20223,014
Jul 20222,836
Jun 20222,719
May 20222,734
Apr 20222,618
Mar 20222,538
Feb 20223,071
Jan 20223,729
Dec 20212,123
Nov 20213,076
Oct 20212,772
Sept 20213,187
Aug 20212,367
Jul 20212,695
Jun 20212,165
May 20211,886
Apr 20211,663
Mar 20212,016
Feb 20211,447
Jan 20211,398
Dec 20201,474
Nov 20201,329
Oct 20201,480
Sept 20201,274
Aug 20201,028
Jul 2020873
Jun 20201,019
May 20201,032
Apr 20201,131
Mar 20201,827
Feb 20202,845
Jan 20201,765
Dec 20191,503
Nov 20191,784
Oct 20191,980
Sept 20192,065
Aug 20192,097
Jul 20192,063
Jun 20192,177
May 20192,521
Apr 20191,873
Mar 20192,228
Feb 20191,943
Jan 20191,835
Dec 20181,891
Nov 20182,074
Oct 20182,196
Sept 20182,300
Aug 20181,525
Jul 20181,843
Jun 20181,618
May 20181,668
Apr 20181,270
Mar 20181,384
Feb 20181,666
Jan 20181,697
Dec 20171,041
Nov 20171,835
Oct 20171,337
Sept 20171,621
Aug 20171,619
Jul 20171,130
Jun 20171,284
May 20171,660
Apr 20171,601
Mar 20171,641
Feb 20171,177
Jan 20171,438
Is there a shortage of pharmacy assistants?
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 advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
40%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London533
Birmingham72
Leeds67
Manchester67
Liverpool60
Somerset59
Glasgow City57
North Yorkshire57
Buckinghamshire54
Sheffield51
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where pharmacy assistants 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
Age of pharmacy assistants
20%!
26%!
19%!
16%!
14%!
5.4%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2420% (small sample)
25–3426% (small sample)
35–4419% (small sample)
45–5416% (small sample)
55–6414% (small sample)
65+5.4% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent30%
Higher education below degree!3.5%
A levels or equivalent28%
GCSEs or equivalent25%
Other qualifications!7.2%
No qualifications!3.5%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent30%
Higher education below degree3.5% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent28%
GCSEs or equivalent25%
Other qualifications7.2% (small sample)
No qualifications3.5% (small sample)

Main employers: dispensing chemist in specialised stores (53%), other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (20%), hospital activities (5.7%), general medical practice activities (4%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
30%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 to 18 months
typically
T Levels
1
college courses for 16 to 19 year olds

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course in retail skills or retail knowledge to help get a job as a trainee pharmacy assistant.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, with a high street pharmacy or in a hospital. These include:

  • Retail Service, Supply and Administration Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
  • Pharmacy Services Assistant Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Retailer Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Other ways in

Work your way up

You could work in a pharmacy as a retail assistant and do a qualification part time on the job, like the Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Support Staff.

Apply directly

You can apply directly for pharmacy assistant roles.

It can help if you have:

  • experience in customer service
  • good reading, number and IT skills
  • GCSEs or equivalent

Registration and professional bodies

Further information

You can find out more about working as a pharmacy assistant from Health Careers.

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

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

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

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Healthcare scienceT Level3

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • checks received prescriptions for legality and accuracy and confirms patients’ or customers’ details
  • maintains records of prescriptions received and drugs issued
  • checks stock levels, rotates stock, orders new stock from supplying companies and ensures that products are stored appropriately
  • arranges displays of merchandise
  • relays information to customers under the direction of pharmacist and opticians or optometrists
  • carries out sales transaction, wraps and packages goods

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 sales occupations, a group of 13 jobs that includes pharmacy assistants.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 255,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035671,000including 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.