NHS Education for Scotland
A skilled and sustainable workforce for a healthier Scotland
NHS Education for Scotland
A skilled and sustainable workforce for a healthier Scotland
Information for Foundation Training Year Applicants
The FTY Recruitment Applicant Handbook for Prospective Trainee Pharmacists contains essential information regarding how the scheme is structured and how the recruitment process operates, including an overview of the assessment process.
The Job Description, Person Specification and Professional Attributes Framework are also very important and provide specific details of the criteria that candidates are required to demonstrate throughout the recruitment process. All applicants are strongly advised to read these documents thoroughly prior to submitting an application.
In collaboration with NHS England, HEIW (Wales) and NES (Scotland), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has published answers to commonly asked questions regarding the National Recruitment Scheme.
Recruitment timeline and online recruitment
Applications will open on Oriel in June 2023 and the recruitment timeline can be found below, applicants are advised to add these key dates to their diary. There are strict deadlines for applications, booking assessment slots and for responding to offers of a FTY post. It is really important for you to ensure you plan around these dates as it will not be possible for us to make any alternative arrangements.
The online recruitment system Oriel will be used throughout the recruitment process for the following purposes:
|
Recruitment Activity |
Date |
|
Training Provider Information Statements published on TPI site |
11 April 2023 |
|
Visitation period |
11 April 2023 to 13 October 2023 |
|
Training Provider Information Statements published on Oriel |
June 2023 |
|
Oriel applications open |
7 June 2023 (12pm) |
|
Oriel applications close |
21 June 2023 (12pm) |
|
Reasonable adjustment submission deadline |
21 June 2023 (12pm) |
|
Training Provider Preferences open (for those submitting a list) |
July 2023 (12pm) |
|
Candidate Preferencing window opens |
26 July 2023 |
|
Invitation to SJT/numeracy selection centre opens |
2 August 2023 |
|
Invitation to SJT/numeracy selection centre closes |
16 August 2023 |
|
SJT/Numeracy selection centre held (Pearson VUE Test Centres)
|
21 September - 5 October 2023
|
|
Training Provider Preferencing window closes |
October 2023 |
|
Candidate Preferencing window closes |
25 October (12pm) |
|
Unsuccessful students notified |
Early November 2023 |
|
First iteration of offers made |
Early November 2023 |
|
Hold deadline |
End of November 2023 |
|
Offers upgrade deadline |
End of November 2023 |
|
Programme commences |
July/August 2024 |
*Please note the date/items are subject to change/TBC
If you get locked out of your oriel account, please contact nationalrecruitment@nes.scot.nhs.uk for assistance.
Training Provider Information Statements
The Training Provider Information Statements allow applicants to search for Training Providers according to their preference for sector and/or geographical area.
Training Provider Information Statements are available on the TPI site which you can access on the link below:
https://nes-tpi.azurewebsites.net/TPinfo.html
The visitation window is now open.
As part of the selection process, applicants are required to submit a Preference List of Training Providers that they are interested in completing their training with.
For the 2023 cycle of recruitment Training Providers were given two options:
Option A – to submit a preference list – in this case it is extremely important that Training Providers get to know you prior to the selection process and it is the responsibility of the candidate to make contact with Training Providers at their earliest opportunity to increase their chance of being included on a Preference List. You should endeavour to contact all of your preferred Training Providers to discuss the opportunities for vocational or part-time employment with them, or, at the very least, to arrange to contact/visit the pharmacy and discuss the FTY with them.
Option B – not to submit a preference list – in this case it is possible for the Training Provider to be matched with any appointable candidates who have added the Training Provider to their Preference List. You are not required to contact Training Providers who are not submitting a list, however, we strongly encourage candidates to do so in order to find out more about the opportunities available if you wish to preference a Training Provider in this category.
Each Training Provider Information Statement clearly states if a Training Provider will be submitting a Preference List or not.
Training Provider Information Statements will also be published on Oriel once applications open.
Examples and scoring guidance for the Situational Judgement Test and Numeracy Test
The Pharmaceutical Journal has published some articles for students on what you need to know about the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and Numeracy assessment. Please refer to the links below for some examples and scoring guidance.
Training Provider Promotional Materials
Promotional Materials for Training Providers participating in the 2023 recruitment process are now available here.
Visa and Immigration
Some pharmacy graduates will require a work visa to enable them to undertake Foundation Training in the UK. It is the graduate’s own responsibility to ensure that you follow the government’s visa processes correctly.
For visa and immigration guidance please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration.
Special Circumstances Policy
The Foundation Training Year Special Circumstances Policy contains guidance about the information and evidence required to request Special Circumstances. To request Special Circumstances please complete relevant form using the links provided below:
Parental Responsibility - Request for Special Circumstances 2023
Primary Carer - Request for Special Circumstances 2023
Medical Condition or Disability - Request for Special Circumstances 2023
Pharmacist Support is an independent charity that provide a wide variety of support services to pharmacists and pharmacy students. This includes online information on finding a foundation trainee pharmacist placement and a list of job vacancy sites that students may find helpful. For your emotional support they offer a range of wellbeing resources , a Listening Friends peer support service, or a counselling service for psychological and emotional support. Please have a look at their webpages Pharmacy Support or alternatively contact them at info@pharmacistsupport.org or on 0808 168 2233 or 0808 168 5133
For any queries regarding the Foundation Training Year Recruitment process, please contact the Pharmacy Recruitment Team by going to the Service Desk here and submitting a support request.
For general pharmacy queries relating to training premises approval or any queries not related to the recruitment process, please email the Pharmacy Team - pharmacy@nes.scot.nhs.uk