Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

healthcare assistanttopharmacy technician

A healthcare assistant already meets 49% of what the pharmacy technician role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.

From healthcare assistant
49%
Overlap1
To pharmacy technician
25 Skills carried over
19 Required, not held
62.5 Difficulty2
Career overlap Partial match

49%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

62.5/ 100

1 Share of the pharmacy technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the healthcare assistant profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A pharmacy technician role treats 19 of its required skills as things a healthcare assistant already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • accept own accountability
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • apply organisational techniques
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
  • contribute to continuity of health care

What stands in the way is 19 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pharmacy technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a healthcare assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held educate on the prevention of illness communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use foreign languages for health-related research communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers

All 25 carried skills, including the 19 the pharmacy technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 27 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 information skills 7 required
  • required, not held report medication interaction to pharmacist required
  • required, not held check information on prescriptions required
  • required, not held maintain pharmaceutical records required
  • required, not held obtain healthcare user's medical status information required
  • required, not held take pharmaceutical inventory required
  • required, not held ensure quality assurance for pharmaceutical products required
  • required, not held process medical insurance claims required
02 handling and moving 5 required
  • required, not held follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health required
  • required, not held handle the logistics of medicinal products required
  • required, not held maintain adequate medication storage conditions required
  • required, not held prepare prescription labels required
  • required, not held transfer medication required
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • required, not held communicate by telephone required
  • required, not held communicate in healthcare required
  • required, not held communicate with customers required
  • optional, not held advise on poisoning incidents optional
  • optional, not held apply context specific clinical competences optional
  • optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
  • optional, not held provide medication information optional
04 management skills 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held operate cash register required
  • required, not held ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy required
  • optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
05 assisting and caring 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held refer healthcare users required
  • optional, not held prepare intravenous packs optional
  • optional, not held prepare doses of medication according to patient needs optional
  • optional, not held prepare medication from prescription optional
06 health and welfare 1 required
  • required, not held medicines for self-medication required
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a pharmacy technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 25 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held accept own accountability skill
  • already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
  • already held apply organisational techniques skill
  • already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
  • already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
  • already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
  • already held deal with emergency care situations skill
  • already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
  • already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
  • already held follow clinical guidelines skill
  • already held interact with healthcare users skill
  • already held listen actively skill
  • already held manage healthcare users' data skill
  • already held promote inclusion skill
  • already held provide health education skill
  • already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
  • already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
  • already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
  • already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
  • already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
  • already held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers skill
  • already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
  • already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
  • already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
  • already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held prepare intravenous packs optional
  • optional, not held advise on poisoning incidents optional
  • optional, not held apply context specific clinical competences optional
  • optional, not held prepare doses of medication according to patient needs optional
  • optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
  • optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
  • optional, not held prepare medication from prescription optional
  • optional, not held provide medication information optional
21 held skills the pharmacy technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role assist in the administration of medication to elderly skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with nursing staff skill
  • not needed by the target role convey medical routine information skill
  • not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
  • not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role distribute meals to patients skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves skill
  • not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
  • not needed by the target role identify abnormalities skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor basic patients signs skill
  • not needed by the target role older adults' needs knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform cleaning duties skill
  • not needed by the target role provide basic support to patients skill
  • not needed by the target role sterilization techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role support individuals to adjust to physical disability skill
  • not needed by the target role support nurses skill
  • not needed by the target role use foreign languages in patient care skill
  • not needed by the target role use technical equipment for sterilisation skill
  • not needed by the target role work under supervision in care skill
  • not needed by the target role work with nursing staff skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held medicines for self-medication required
Index

Other moves recorded from healthcare assistant

Full index of moves from healthcare assistant

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.