haha securing a pre-reg position? what do you need to know?

i am not sure if the details of getting an employment in uk has been discussed in this thread before but i have not seen information regarding this in the first post so i will just provide some information here for those who wants to know more about securing a pre-reg/pharmacist position in uk after graduation, since that was what i wish to know from here too when i was still new in pharmacy.

to be able to work in the uk, you'll first need a job offer, then using the job offer, you'll have to apply for your working visa to allow you to continue your work in uk after your graduation. previously, foreigners could apply for the Tier 1 Post Study Work scheme which entitle them to work in UK after graduating as long as they have gotten a job offer. however, securing a pre-reg position in uk is not as easy anymore beginning from this year. the uk border agency has recently made some changes to their visa schemes and unfortunately the Tier 1 (PSW) scheme has been removed. now if you wish to work in uk, you'll have to apply for the working visa through another route ie. the Tier 2 visa.

however, there is a catch, to be qualified for the Tier 2 visa application, your job offer should have a minimum salary pay of £20,710/year, no less. at the moment, the salary schemes for community pre-reg ranges from £15k-21k/year (depends on location/workload/etc) while NHS (generally hospital) pre-reg pays above the minimum salary requirement, ie. more than £20,710/year. therefore, to fully secure a pre-reg position in uk, you should get a job offer from hospital pharmacy so you could apply for your working visa. but unlike in malaysia, hospital pharmacies in uk are more exclusive as they only accept the very best graduates and have limited positions available, so it is very competitive to even get a chance for an interview.

you could also apply for community pharmacies which offer pay above the minimum salary requirement, though not many will offer at such high salary as even giant pharmacy chain stores like boots, llyods only offer an average salary of £18-19k/year. only a small number of independent/privately-owned community pharmacies could offer above the minimum salary requirement after negotiation with the employer.

thankfully, since most of the pre-reg positions based within the community setting are offering salary less than the minimum required amount, the ukba agency has agreed for RPS (uk royal pharmaceutical society) to support foreigners graduated from uk pharmacy schools in their working visa application if their salary is below the Tier 2 minimum salary requirement. this is offered via the Tier 5 PPSS visa scheme.

however, this does not solve the problem too as the Tier 5 visa scheme is only catered for students who have enrolled into the MPharm course before 2012. the reason was because international students (eg: hong kong) enrolled into the course prior to the change in visa regulation, were expected to graduate and work in uk to be a fully qualified pharmacist first before going back to HK. the HK pharmacy board only recognises overseas qualification if they return to HK as a qualified pharmacist, not as a fresh graduate. which is why there is a leniency for RPS to support overseas students, otherwise their 4 year degree would be a waste for not being able to work in HK in the future if they could not secure a training position with the minimum salary in UK (indirectly, malaysian students benefited from this although we do not have this limitation). beginning this year, having been informed about the changes in the visa regulation, it is up to international students to prepare for the possible consequence of not being able to secure a job to be a qualified pharmacist - if they have still decided to study in the uk (ie. a waste of a four year degree for HK students).

for those who have enrolled into the course prior to the change in visa regulation, not to worry. getting a job offer from a community pharmacy is no biggie (at least for me), and if you do not mind the location, the chances of getting it is even higher. the only concern is the salary of the offer. therefore, it is entirely possible for you to have gotten a job offer but fail in the working visa application process due to the pay. but as long as you're covered by RPS, you should be fine.

more info here:
http://www.rpharms.com/preregistration-tra...cy-students.asp
and
http://www.rpharms.com/pharmacy-profession...udents/faqs.asp

i hope i did not discourage anyone from going to uk to study pharmacy just because of the slimmer chance in securing a job there after graduation. i would say the experience as a pharmacy student in uk is worthwhile too if you have the money, especially if you really do spend some time working in the pharmacy during weekends/holidays/summer of your university life. besides, the visa scheme may change in favour of graduates again in the future, who knows?