Employment in the field of Pharmacy is considered as a “Socially Recognized Job”.
There are basic qualifications required to join certain sectors of Pharmacy ( like Government sector Hospitals, Manufacturing, Quality control etc); However,No formal qualification is required for employments in Private Retail Pharmacy, importers, wholesale Pharmacy etc. The recruitment is done on the decisions of the business entrepreneurs and the recruits may not receive any formal planned training in most of the instances.
A group of Pharmacists under the Guidance of Late Pharmacist (Dr.) Siva Gnanapandithen , a well-known Trainer, “Guru” for thousands of Pharmacists spread around the globe, grouped together to develop a suitable certification programme.
The “Guru” guided us that the Certification programme should be
- Government approved
- Experience to be considered as an Entry Qualification
- The system to improve and acquire the necessary knowledge in the industry.
- Assessment based Evaluation
- Not to fail system……
- Government Recognized Career Path
A team of Pharmacists submitted a proposal to Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) through the Pharmaceutical Traders Association (PTA) of Sri Lanka. The Proposal was recommended and referred to the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) to develop National Competency Standards (NCS). The Team decided to fund the cost involved in the development of the NCS to expedite the activity, as an immediate requirement arose due to the newly enacted National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Act No 5 of 2015.
The Team also decided NOT to tax the patients by obtaining the sponsorship from the Pharmaceutical Industry. So they decided to form an Association for the Pharmacy owners and Employees and the Membership fee was to be utilized for funding the Development of NCS. The proposal was successfully carried out and apa was formed.