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.
Please note that the salary for trainee pharmacists in the FTY has increased to £26,104 with effect from 1st December 2020 as per Agenda for Change scale for the bottom of band 5. This figure supersedes the information stated in the FT Recruitment Applicant Handbook which was published prior to the pay uplift being confirmed.
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 HEE (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
The recruitment timeline has now been published (please see below), applicants are advised to add key dates to their diary. There are strict deadlines for booking assessment slots and for responding to offers of a FTY post. It is really important for you to ensure you plan around the below 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:
If you get locked out of your oriel account, please contact nationalrecruitment@nes.scot.nhs.uk for assistance.
|
Recruitment Activity |
Date |
|
Training Provider Information Statements published on TPI Site |
15th April 2021 |
|
Visitation Period |
15th April 2021 to 14th October 2021 |
|
Training Provider details published on Oriel |
2nd June 2021 |
|
Oriel applications open |
9th June 2021 (12pm) |
|
Oriel applications close |
23rd June 2021 (12pm) |
|
Training Provider preferences open (for those submitting a list) |
15th July 2021 (12pm) |
|
Candidate preferencing window opens |
28th July 2021 (12pm) |
|
Invitation to SJT/numeracy selection centre opens |
4th August 2021 (12am) |
|
Invitation to SJT/numeracy selection centre closes |
18th August 2021 (12am) |
|
SJT/Numeracy selection centre held |
27th September to 9th October 2021 |
|
Training Provider preferences close |
14th October 2021 (12pm) |
|
Candidate preferencing window closes |
26th October 2021 (12pm) |
|
Comms to unsuccessful candidates |
8th November 2021 |
|
First iteration of offers made |
10th November 2021 |
|
Hold deadline |
26th November 2021 |
|
Offers upgrade deadline |
30th November 2021 |
|
Programme commences |
July/August 2022 |
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.
Details of Training Providers involved in FTY for training year 2022-23 can be found on Oriel, in the programme details of the pre-registration pharmacist - Scotland vacancy.
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. During the visitation period applicants must adhere to the government social distancing and travel restrictions for their region due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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 2021 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 are now available on Oriel as well as the NES TPI Site.
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.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT) conducted at Pearson VUE
Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) are a measurement methodology designed to assess judgement in work relevant situations. The Pre-Registration Pharmacist SJT has been designed to assess the professional attributes expected of a Pre-Registration Pharmacist. The scenarios have been written by subject matter experts who work closely with Pre-Registration Pharmacists. This ensures that the scenarios presented are realistic and fair and provide an accurate reflection of what Pre-Registration Pharmacists encounter in their role.
The SJT will be a written test examining four of the attributes from within the Pre-Registration Pharmacist Professional Attributes Framework. It will consist of 52 scenarios to be completed in 104 minutes. When responding to each scenario you will be asked to place yourself in the role of a Pre-Registration Pharmacist and indicate what you should do in response to the situation presented.
Within the SJT there will be two types of response format:
Example of a Situational Judgement Test and Scoring Guidance
The questions include information on the answer and expert rational.
Applicants for the FTY can now access a sample SJT paper. This paper contains 25 scenarios presented in the two formats you will see in the actual test, with full answer keys and rationales provided at the end of part 2.
A glossary is available to help in understanding the pharmacy terms used in the scenarios, a similar glossary will be provided in the assessment.
SJT Scoring Guidance has also been provided to help with understanding how your SJT test will be scored. You are encouraged to attempt the paper without looking at the answers in the first instance, and to time yourself in preparation for your assessment sitting.
Numeracy Test conducted at Pearson VUE
The numeracy test will be taken directly before the SJT in the same room. The test is designed to test numeracy with less clinical context than the GPhC registration assessment. It will last approximately 15 minutes. The numeracy test is designed to provide assurance of an applicant’s ability to carry out basic pharmaceutical calculations. There are ten questions and the time allowed for the exercise is 15 minutes. These calculations are not provided in a clinical context and are designed to test mathematical ability rather than practice knowledge.
Calculators are permitted to be used during the test. You may not use calculators on smartphones, tablets, smartwatches or equivalent technology. Answers will be free text (i.e. not multiple choice).
IMPORTANT: calculators will not be provided at selection centres.
Training Provider Promotional Materials
Promotional Materials for the Training Providers participating in the 2021 recruitment process can be accessed here.
Support webinars and FAQ’s
Colleagues from NES, HEE, HIEW and BPSA co-hosted a webinar on Wednesday 3rd June 2020 where they talked through the alternative national arrangements for 2020, as the assessment process will be the same across England, Scotland and Wales. We encourage you to view this webinar – if you missed the webinar a recording is available to view on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society RPS website.
Following on from this, NES Pharmacy hosted a Scotland specific webinar on Wednesday 10th June to explain the full Recruitment process in 2020 for the Foundation Training Year in Scotland. We strongly encourage you to view this webinar to ensure you are fully aware of the various steps in the recruitment process:
Please see a list of useful FAQ’s recently published for pre-registration recruitment 2020 following an event organised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
There will be a national webinar taking place on the 11th May 2021 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm to explain the 2021 recruitment process.
To register for a place to attend the webinar, please go to:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7098933465645344780
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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.
Brexit
Important: We would like to bring to the attention of all applicants the potential impact Brexit may have on your application, employment and training in the UK. We therefore encourage you to refer to the UK Government website for further information and advice.
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 2021
Primary Carer - Request for Special Circumstances 2021
Medical Condition or Disability - Request for Special Circumstances 2021
For any queries regarding the Foundation Training Year Recruitment process, please email the Pharmacy Recruitment Team - pharmacy.recruitment@nes.scot.nhs.uk
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