IPU Pharmacy Technician Year 1

(BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians)

Overview

The IPU Pharmacy Technician Course is a two-year ‘distance learning’ course for pharmacy staff who work in the dispensary. This course leads to a BTEC Level 3 Diploma which is accredited by Pearson International. The comprehensive course, which is delivered and managed by the IPU Professional Academy, prepares pharmacy technicians to assist pharmacists in ensuring the delivery of a high-quality pharmacy service to patients in an efficient, safe and cost-effective manner. Simultaneously, it aims to ensure that pharmacy technicians have the necessary knowledge and skill to demonstrate professionalism and deliver person-centred care from day one of practice.

Entrance requirements

• Learners must be working in the pharmacy dispensary for a minimum of 20 hours per week for the duration of the course.
• Learners must have 1 year work experience in a pharmacy.
• Learners must have passed English, Mathematics and any Science Subject in Junior Certificate level or equivalent.

Course Delivery and Methodology

The course starts in January 2026 and is a two-year blended learning program that covers both self-study and the collection of evidence to demonstrate competency. The course is divided into 23 Self-Study Books (Units) that constitute the underpinning knowledge and competencies expected of a qualified technician. Coursework is provided by regular mailings throughout the two years along with ongoing support from the IPU Professional Academy. Candidates will need access to IT and broadband to connect with online course support and information provided by the IPU Assessor team, Internal Quality Assurance team and the Moodle Platform. Applicants need to commit to approximately 13 hours study time per week with type written coursework being a minimum requirement. The learner’s progress is assessed by a series of short essay projects or assignments, short answer questions, case studies and evidence collection. Each learner is allocated an Assessor for the duration of the course. The learner and their assessor will work together on a one-to-one basis, to ensure success in assignments for each Book (Self-Study Book). A member of the assessor team will also visit and meet each learner during the two-year course term.

Course Structure Year 1 and 2

Self-study books cover the following areas:

• Person-centred approaches for Pharmacy Technicians;
• Irish Pharmacy Law and Irish Community Drug Schemes;
• Accuracy checking;
• Medicines reconciliation;
• Actions and uses of drugs;
• Basic principles of pharmaceutical science;
• Comprehensive dispensing training;
• Personal development throughout;
• Pharmaceutical stock management;
• Pharmacology related to cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, endocrine, gastro-intestinal, gynaecological, malignant and genitourinary conditions;
• Microbiology and infection prevention; and
• Safe manufacture of quality medicines.

Certification

Successful candidates will receive two certificates during the program:

• Year 1:  IPU Certificate on completion of Year 1;
• Year 2: BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians from the awarding body, Pearson International.

Registration

Enrolment for Year 1, starting 2026 will be available from 1 September 2025 Enrolment for Year 2, starting 2026 will be available from 3 November 2025.

Course Fee

The cost of this course is €2,600 for learners working for IPU members; or €3,000 for learners working for non-members – per year. Up to €1,270 per pharmacy, per year, is reimbursable for training from the PCRS under the Pharmacy Training Grant Scheme. For further information on claiming the grant go to www.ipu.ie> IPU Professional Academy > IPU Training > Training Resources.

How to Enrol and Pay

1. Go to www.ipu.ie.
2. In the top menu, click on “IPU Professional Academy” and then select Training Courses.
3. If you want to browse first, just click View Course to read the details.
4. From the Training Courses page, you can add courses to a shopping cart by hovering over the course you want and clicking Add to Cart. You will be able to increase the quantity at the Checkout point. You can continue adding other courses to the cart, or when you are done, click View basket on the last course you added, or, if you are viewing a course, click on the basket icon in the right-hand corner and click View Basket.
5. From here, you can increase the quantity but make sure to click Update Basket if you do so.
6. Please, make sure you click on the green button ”Members Login” and log on if you are a member, so the system will show the member price.
7. Click Proceed to Checkout when you are happy with your booking (s) and enter your billing and pharmacist details.
8. You can then scroll down to enter the student details. For example, if you are intending on booking one student on one course and then two students on to a different course, you will see three student bookings appear in the Checkout, since you are booking three slots. The name of the course (s) you have selected will appear at the top of each slot so you can enter the details of the appropriate student to the selected course. You would then repeat the same for the next two student slots.
9. After entering all the required information, enter your card details and click Place Order to pay for all of the bookings in one go. This eLearning course is available to purchase 24/7 and is placed on the IPU Professional Academy Learning Management System (LMS).