D. Callcut / Alamy Stock Photo
Ukrainian pharmacists who arrive in the UK as refugees will be guaranteed a job interview with Asda, the supermarket giant has announced.
As part of a campaign to support Ukrainian refugees, Asda has said that all Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK will be offered a job interview and successful candidates will be provided with specialist support in their new roles.
The supermarket said it has more than 1,500 jobs available across its stores, warehouses and supply chain — including pharmacist roles — and “would welcome applications from Ukrainian refugees to fill these roles”, according to the statement.
When applying, Ukrainian nationals will need to tick a box confirming their nationality on the Asda job site.
Hayley Tatum, chief people officer at Asda, said: “We want to support those Ukrainian refugees who come to the UK by helping them find employment, as this will give them the stability and security needed to help build a new life for themselves.”
On 22 March 2022, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) released advice for both UK pharmacists wishing to help Ukrainian pharmacists, and Ukrainian pharmacists seeking employment opportunities in the UK, in response to the large number of enquiries they had received asking for guidance.
The GPhC said it would “welcome all those wishing to work in pharmacy in any capacity” and highlighted that there are many roles in pharmacy in the UK that do not require registration.
If applying for a registered role, Ukrainian pharmacists would still need to complete the regular requisites for pharmacists coming from outside the EU. These include: an Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme, 52 weeks of preregistration training in England, Scotland or Wales and passing the GPhC registration assessment.
However, the GPhC said in its statement: “We would encourage any Ukrainian pharmacy professionals who want to register with us to contact us directly so we can give them advice and support. Our registration team will be as flexible as possible to support Ukrainian pharmacy professionals by talking through individual circumstances, including financial difficulties, obtaining documents or other challenges.”
Read more: Pharmacists advised not to send medication direct to Ukraine
