National Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Recruitment
The National Recruitment Scheme has been awarded the inaugural Chemist & Druggist Award for Diversity and Inclusion. Click the button below to read more about why the Scheme has positive benefits for both applicants and employers.

What's happening now (June - Oct)
Applicant Information
The application window opens at 12pm on 7th June 2023 and will close on 21st June 2023 at 12pm. Please see the full recruitment timeline below.
The applicant handbook is available to download below.
FAQs can be found on the HEE Applicant Support Portal. If your question still hasn’t been answered, then all applicant enquiries, including locked Oriel accounts, must be logged through the HEE Support Portal website. Please access this website from the button below.
In collaboration with HEE (England), HEIW (Wales) and NES (Scotland), the RPS has published answers to commonly asked questions regarding the National Recruitment Scheme.
Employer registration for the 2024-2025 cohort year is now closed
Registration for employers is now closed. Regional Leads will now review the programme information submitted to ensure it complies with HEE's statutory responsibilities.
If any programme information requires amendment, a HEE representative will be in touch with employers directly over the next few weeks and ask employers to resubmit an updated registration form as necessary.
Employer details and programme information will be available on the Oriel platform from early June for prospective applicants to view. Employers should also review the information via Oriel in June to ensure they still want to continue to recruit via the National Recruitment Scheme.
Trainee Pharmacist Recruitment Overview

Complaints Policy
The recruitment and selection process to Trainee pharmacist training places aims to have methods that are fair, transparent and free from discrimination.
We publish our recruitment and selection methods within the applicant handbook.
The processes are designed and delivered by the Pharmacy National Recruitment Office (PNRO) working in partnership with local offices of Health Education England and the Welsh Workforce Education Development Service. However hard we try to respond to the wishes and aspirations of applicants accessing our recruitment services, we do recognise that, on occasion, our service may fall short of expectations. If you believe this has happened to you, you can use the complaints procedure below, which tells you how to make a complaint and how it will be handled.
Recruitment Timeline
Activity
Month
Foundation Pharmacist training programme information available on Oriel
7th June 2023
Application window opens
7th June 2023 at 12pm
Application window closes
21 June 2023 at 12pm
Preferencing window opens
26th July 2023
Numeracy/SJT centre booking window opens
2nd August 2023
Numeracy/SJT centre booking window closes
16th August 2023
SJT/Numeracy selection centre held (Pearson VUE Test Centres)
21st September - 5th October 2023
Preferencing window closes
31st October 2023
First round of offers released
Early November 2023
Offers upgrade deadline
Late November 2023
Programmes commence
July/August 2024
*Please note the date/items are subject to change/TBC