Course questions, answered

For the accredited courses, yes. Both the Level 2 Certificate and the Level 3 Diploma are assessed in the workplace, so you need a job in a UK pharmacy before you can start. There is no way around this — it is how the qualifications are built.

If you are not working in a pharmacy yet, Get Into Pharmacy is the course designed for exactly that position, and you can start it today.

In short: never worked in a pharmacy → Get Into Pharmacy. Working in a pharmacy and want your first qualification → Level 2. Working in a pharmacy and want to become a pharmacy technician → Level 3.

Not sure? Answer three quick questions and we’ll tell you, or see the side-by-side comparison. If you are still unsure, book a free 30-minute call — that is what it is for.

For Level 2, no formal entry qualifications are required. You do need a UK pharmacy placement and a short admission interview.

For Level 3, you need GCSE English and maths at grade 4/C or equivalent.

For Get Into Pharmacy, nothing at all.

If you already meet the Level 3 entry requirements you can apply for Level 3 directly. That said, we strongly recommend starting at Level 2 if you are new to the dispensary — Level 3 assumes a working knowledge that Level 2 builds.

Whether Level 2 is right for you depends on your experience and your existing qualifications, and it is the question we are asked most. Book a free call and Daniel will give you a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.

Both accredited courses are blended: online study you fit around your shifts, a live online class once a week, and assessment in your own pharmacy.

The live class is one hour a week for Level 2 and one hour a week for Level 3, and attendance is expected — it is part of the course, not an optional extra. Get Into Pharmacy has no classes at all and is entirely self-paced.

No. Neither accredited course has written exams. You are assessed on work-based evidence — what you actually do in the pharmacy — with our assessors observing you in your own workplace.

Both qualifications are awarded by Open Awards, an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation. PPets is an approved Open Awards centre delivering them.

• Level 2: Technical Occupational Entry in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Support Staff (Certificate), qualification number 610/4508/1
• Level 3: Technical Occupational Entry in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians (Diploma), qualification number 610/4031/9

You can look either number up on the official register.

A regulated qualification sits on the Regulated Qualifications Framework and is regulated by Ofqual, the government qualifications regulator, and awarded by an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation. Ours are awarded by Open Awards: Level 2 is 610/4508/1 and Level 3 is 610/4031/9. You can search either number on the public register.

Not every pharmacy course is one. Some are certificates a training provider has written, taught, marked and issued itself. The practical differences:

• The standard is set by the awarding organisation, not by us — we don’t decide what counts as a pass.
• Our marking is externally quality assured by Open Awards.
• Your certificate is issued and held by Open Awards, so it exists independently of PPets.
• It is recognised on its qualification number by employers and other providers, whoever taught it.

Worth asking of any course you’re considering: what’s the qualification number, and which awarding organisation issues the certificate?

Because no training centre is. The GPhC recognises qualifications and the awarding organisations that issue them — it does not list the individual centres that deliver them. Searching the register for “PPets” returns nothing, and the same is true for every other centre delivering this qualification.

The Level 3 Diploma is awarded by Open Awards, who deliver it through their approved centres. PPets is one of those approved centres. The GPhC’s own re-recognition report describes it that way: Open Awards is approved to deliver the qualification “via its approved centre providers”.

So search the register for Open Awards, and check qualification number 610/4031/9 — that is the qualification you would be enrolled on and the one named on your certificate. Step-by-step proof is on the Level 3 course page.

Yes — and you can verify it before you pay us anything. The Open Awards Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians (Diploma), 610/4031/9, is listed on the GPhC’s own register of approved courses and recognised qualifications — currently approved to the end of January 2032.

To check: open the GPhC’s approved courses and recognised qualifications page, set Provider to Open Awards and Course or qualification to Pharmacy technician combined qualification. It appears under “Pharmacy technician recognised qualifications”, with the GPhC’s own recognition report attached. Full evidence is on the Level 3 course page.

Registration is granted by the GPhC, not by us, and is subject to their own requirements. Level 2 does not lead to registration — it is the qualification for pharmacy support staff in dispensing and counter roles, and the usual step before Level 3.

Get Into Pharmacy: around 13 hours, at your own pace. Level 2: designed around 12 months, though 6–8 months is achievable if your evidence comes together quickly. Level 3: approximately 2 years.

Your exact timescale depends on how quickly you build your work-based evidence, and your assessor agrees a personal plan with you at induction.

Level 2 is £1,600 paying in full or £1,680 by instalments. Level 3 is £3,500 in full or £3,675 by instalments. Get Into Pharmacy is £49.

Full detail, including how the first payment works, is on the course fees page. Both accredited prices are introductory rates for our first intake.

Yes. Level 2 is designed around 12 months but you can complete in 6–8 months if you build your evidence quickly, and your assessor will not hold you back.

One thing to know if you are paying by instalments: your certificate is claimed from Open Awards once your fee is paid in full. So finishing the work early doesn’t bring the certificate forward — it follows your final payment. If you expect to finish quickly, paying in full at the start avoids the wait and saves 5%.

£200 for Level 2 and £500 for Level 3. It is the first instalment of your course fee, not an extra charge.

It does three things: it fixes your price, so it cannot go up afterwards; it covers your registration with Open Awards, which is why we need it before you start; and it comes off the total you owe.

There is nothing to pay when you apply. Your first payment falls due once your application is accepted, after the admission interview and the workplace assessment with your employer.

You can change your mind within 14 days of making it and get every penny back, no questions asked.

Yes, and it makes no difference to your application. The form asks how you expect the course to be funded and “not sure yet” is a perfectly good answer.

If your pharmacy might contribute, our employer page sets out what we offer and can be forwarded to whoever makes that decision.

Yes — the introductory price ends on 31 October 2026. From 1 November 2026 the Level 3 Diploma is £4,200 paying in full, or £4,410 by instalments. Until then it is £3,500 in full or £3,675 by instalments.

Your price is fixed by your first payment. Make it on or before 31 October 2026 and you pay the introductory price for your whole course, however long you take to finish — we do not increase a fee part-way through. Apply now to secure it.

The Level 2 Certificate is unchanged at £1,600 for now.

Cohorts run regularly, for both Level 2 and Level 3. Classes are one hour, once a week.

After that, Level 2 runs rolling cohorts — once you are registered and ready, the next one normally starts within four weeks. Level 3 also runs rolling cohorts, so there is no fixed intake to wait for.

Get Into Pharmacy has no start date — you enrol and begin the same day.

Daniel reads every application himself and emails you within two working days. He will ask for your certificates by email and arrange a short online admission interview. Then comes the workplace assessment with your employer, your first payment, and induction.

The application itself takes about two minutes and you do not need any documents to hand.

You will need a UK ENIC Statement of Comparability showing how your qualification compares to a UK one, plus your original certificates. There is a fee and it takes time, so it is worth starting while we process your application.

Often quicker and cheaper: sit Functional Skills Level 2 in English and maths in the UK instead. Book a free call if you are unsure which suits you.

No. Level 3 leads to registration as a pharmacy technician, not a pharmacist. If you qualified as a pharmacist abroad and want to practise as a pharmacist here, the route is the OSPAP at a UK university, then foundation training and the GPhC registration assessment. PPets does not offer it. The GPhC sets out the process on its page for internationally qualified pharmacists. Our overseas qualified page explains what we can and cannot do for you.

No. PPets is a training provider, not a sponsor. We cannot sponsor a visa, support a visa application or help you find sponsored work, and enrolling does not give you any right to stay in the UK. You need the right to live and work in the UK for the whole length of the qualification (around 12 months for Level 2, 24 months for Level 3) plus the time to register with the GPhC afterwards. If your visa ends part way through you will not be able to finish, and leaving for that reason is treated as a withdrawal under our terms, so fees for teaching already delivered are not refunded. Please check your dates before you pay.

Yes, and we would rather you did. Book a free 30-minute call with Daniel — a registered pharmacy technician with 20+ years in the job, not a salesperson. No obligation, and he will tell you if now is not the right time.

Start with Get Into Pharmacy. It is built for exactly this: understanding the roles, and getting you ready to apply for your first pharmacy job. You can enrol and start today.

If you have no UK pharmacy experience and no pharmacy job, you can also sign up for Level 2 or Level 3 as a career starter: your price is fixed from your first payment and Get Into Pharmacy is included in it.