Support for Australian Pharmacy Workforce
12 December 2011
The National Council of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has called for pharmacists to be removed from the migration Skilled Occupations List (SOL). The Guild lodged a submission to Skills Australia seeking the removal of pharmacists from the list for 2012 at the end of last week. Skills Australia removed pharmacists from the SOL in 2010, but the profession was reinstated in July this year.
National President of the Guild Kos Sclavos said, “With 18 accredited pharmacy schools in Australia, and a sharp growth in graduate numbers over the past 10 years, we have to focus on ensuring appropriate job opportunities for our burgeoning workforce.”
Mr Sclavos said there were only six pharmacy schools 10 years ago, compared to the current 18. In contrast, New Zealand has just two.
The rise in graduate numbers – currently around 1600 a year – is placing a strain on community pharmacies in terms of their capacity to find intern placements for all graduates.
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