If you’re looking for a career that pays well, provides job stability, and doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree, a career as a Pharmacy Technician might be a good fit for you. If you want to learn more about how to become a Pharmacy Technician in BC, you’re in the right place! This blog will cover everything you need to know about Pharmacy Technician duties, education, income, and job prospects.
Keep reading or click the links below to learn everything you need to know about how to become a Pharmacy Technician.
How to Become a Pharmacy Technician in BC
Pharmacy Technician Income & Job Prospects
Launch Your Career with Sprott Shaw’s Pharmacy Technician Program
Ready to learn more or take the next step? Our Admissions Advisors are here to help! Click the button below to complete a contact form, and an advisor will get back to you soon.
Pharmacy Technician Duties
Before enrolling in a Pharmacy technician program, you should learn about what Pharmacy Technicians do! Their responsibilities include medication dispensing, customer service, and inventory control.
Pharmacy Technician duties require attention to detail and organization. It’s essential that Pharmacy Technicians provide the correct medications and accurately input customers’ prescription records into their digital system. Not only that, but Pharmacy Technicians are responsible for maintaining medical inventories and compounding certain medications, both of which require precision.
Pharmacy Technicians are also customer-facing and therefore must have good people and customer service skills. In this position, Pharm Techs interact with customers to receive and fulfill their prescriptions, which may also entail collecting their medical history, teaching them how to use medical devices, and processing payments and insurance billing.
How to Become a Pharmacy Technician in BC
To become a Pharmacy Technician, you must complete a Pharmacy Technician program that has provisional accreditation or full accreditation from the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP).
Once students graduate from a Pharmacy Technician program, they’re still not quite Pharmacy Technicians just yet! Next, they must pass the Pharmacy Technician Qualifying Examination from the Pharmacy Board of Canada (PEBC). This exam qualifies candidates to work as Pharmacy Technicians in Canada. The exam has two parts: part one tests candidates on theory and is administered through a computer, while part two assesses their hands-on skills through a series of test stations.
The last step to becoming a Pharmacy Technician is thankfully the easiest! After successfully passing both parts of the qualifying exam, Pharmacy Technicians must register for a license through the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia (CPBC). After this, they’re ready to start working!
Pharmacy Technician Income & Job Prospects
In British Columbia, the median Pharmacy Technician income is over $57,000 a year or $31 an hour, according to WorkBC.
WorkBC predicts that there will be over 1,200 job openings for Pharmacy Technicians from 2025 to 2035. The job prospects for Pharmacy Assistants are relatively high since they are qualified to perform the duties of Pharmacy Assistants as well.
Pharmacy Technicians are employed in community, retail, and hospital pharmacies across the province. They often work set hours that align with their workplace’s hours of operation. For example, Pharmacy Technicians who work in community or retail pharmacies will work based on the time their pharmacy is open, but Pharmacy Technicians who work in hospital pharmacies may work early and/or late hours, since some hospital pharmacies are open 24/7.
Launch Your Career with Sprott Shaw’s Pharmacy Technician Program
Sprott Shaw College’s Pharmacy Technician program is 11 months (49 weeks) long. Our program operates on a combination delivery method, meaning that students spend half of the program duration learning theory from the comfort of their homes and then during the second half of the program, they receive hands-on training at our dedicated Pharmacy Technician lab at our Vancouver campus.
Our Pharmacy Technician students’ in-person training includes role plays, skill labs, scenarios, simulations, demonstrations, and — most importantly — two practicum placements. Students will spend five weeks in a community pharmacy and four weeks in a hospital pharmacy, providing them with real-world experience and a well-rounded skillset before they graduate and begin job searching.
Sprott Shaw College is dedicated to student success, from enrollment to graduation and beyond. Our Admissions Advisors help prospective students find grant and scholarship opportunities and guide them through the enrollment process. Through our small class sizes and emphasis on hands-on, real-world learning, students receive the support and experience they need to thrive in the classroom and in the field. Our students and alumni have lifetime access to our Employment Services Specialists, who can help them land their dream jobs.
Have questions or ready to take the next step? Our Admissions Advisors can answer any questions you may have about our Pharmacy Technician program, and they can guide you through the enrollment process when you’re ready. Click the button below to complete a contact form, and an advisor will get back to you soon!