Health Education England is to publish two reports on the pharmacy technician workforce, looking at their motivations for joining the register and why they leave for different careers.

In contract documents published last week, HEE set out its criteria for the reports, which will be carried out by the University of Manchester’s Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies.

The first will look at factors that influence people to train as pharmacy technicians or to seek alternative roles in healthcare, and whether there are variations among different demographics.

The second will “provide insights into reasons why pharmacy technicians consider leaving their professional register”.

It will seek to capture data on factors known to influence an individual’s intention to quit, including stress, burnout, employer support and job satisfaction, leading to recommendations on how retention can be improved.

A survey of a large sample of the profession will be carried out for the reports, focusing on those who have joined in the last two years. The reports will also draw on qualitative insight gained through interviews with registrants.

The contract price for both reports amounts to £98,000. The first is expected to be finalised in January next year, and the second in March. 

The GPhC’s latest annual report shows that in 2021-22 the number of UK registered pharmacy technicians rose from 24,429 to 24,928.