Elmwood & Collins Healthcare is so proud of the apprentices in their Pharmacies. The apprenticeship programme has been a huge success for their 8-branch Pharmacy business and has now had around 25 apprentices past and present.
Apprentices often come to them fresh from school or college, needing a purpose and wanting to develop new skills. Sometimes, their mental health is also in need of a boost following the stresses of young life, especially due to the technological era we now live in that brings with it such focus on social media and mobile phone use/gaming. Many have never had a job and did not find school and traditional-based study easy.
With their apprentices – they learn whilst actively communicating with customers and demonstrating skills as they learn them from the start. This can be challenging at first– but with Elmwood & Collins Healthcare as role models/mentors, they soon start progressing and achieving, often surprising themselves in the process. In turn, the apprentices bring new ideas and grow in confidence and skill as they progress through the various levels of the business.
How Elmwood & Collins Healthcare started
Jas and her husband Parv met at De Montfort University in Leicester, whilst doing their MPharm degrees. Graduating as a pharmacist in 2003 taking on management jobs in Daventry and Solihull before doing locum work all over the country to gain experience. They decided to start their own business around 2012 and relocated to Cambridge.
Their first pharmacy was Langford Pharmacy in Biggleswade which Parv managed, and the second was Thurston Pharmacy near Bury St Edmunds. They knew nothing about apprenticeships but put out a job ad locally, and a young man called Daniel came in and said he was looking for an apprenticeship. Jas started looking into apprenticeships on his behalf, speaking to the college, and Daniel became their first apprentice. He was absolutely brilliant and really helped grow the business at Thurston. They ended up being a great team and were really inspired by us.
Daniel eventually left to work at a dispensing doctor’s surgery and became an ACT, he gave such a great experience of the Apprenticeship programme that they started taking apprentices on at both branches straight away.
Thurston Pharmacy has had many apprentices through the doors over the years and is now run mainly by apprentices/apprentice finishers. In 2020 they decided to expand the business and bought two pharmacies in Nottingham, where they also added apprentices. This was not without challenges as the staff there were older and had not engaged with the process before, but time and patience have meant it is now working well. 18 months ago, they took over several Lloyds pharmacies in Cambs, and we have apprentices at all of those.
Skills4Pharmacy meets all our requirements, we feel we share the same vision. It makes financial sense for us to offer apprenticeships, but most importantly we are giving young people a chance to flourish and set up skills and contacts for life. We are role models for them– we must lead by example as our apprentices will be the future of pharmacy. You also need to have patience and the passion to mentor. We are a family business, and we see our apprentices as our family too. It is important to us that they are happy in themselves, as well as learning skills and we regularly check in on all of them.
Daniel keeps in touch with us to this day, and many previous apprentices who now work in other areas or have set up their businesses, still pop in to chat with us regularly. We are so proud of all our apprentices past and present.
Here are some Quotes from Elmwood & Collins Healthcare’s current apprentices:
Kaira – Carlton Hill Pharmacy
“I am always looking forward to learning new things. I have dyslexia, and Skills4Pharmacy have given me support with this. In 5 years, I hope to see myself as a qualified pharmacy technician either in the community or somewhere different, like a prison. Amrit, the manager and pharmacist here at Carlton has also been so helpful, even spending one-to-one time with me to assist with my coursework.”
Katie – Carlton Hill Pharmacy
“When I first started my apprenticeship, I was scared of the challenge ahead. However, they understood me as an individual person and helped me to work within my ability to a timescale that worked for me. I can easily feel overwhelmed; Amrit took time to explain things to me and allowed me to observe new practices until I was comfortable. As time went on, I became more determined. Now I have passed and helped to train people myself. My advice would be to go forward with an apprenticeship. In 5 years, I still see myself in pharmacy with extra skills such as vaccinations or management.”
Keeley – Cornerstone Pharmacy
“I am enjoying all the different tasks in the apprenticeship such as dispensing, and serving customers and really love the teamwork. My manager Adele has been so supportive, I would have been really stuck without her. Shari and the rest of the team too. Nothing has been too much trouble when I have asked for help. I am learning skills for life in a real-world setting. I see myself still working in a pharmacy in 5 years, possibly training to be a pharmacist.”
Faye – Thurston Pharmacy
“I feel like I fit in well with the team, I also really enjoy learning new skills every day. This apprenticeship has been a great way to gain confidence. I really enjoy getting to know our patients, this has been such a positive choice for my future and I’m so excited for my future here at Thurston Pharmacy. Georgia, Jas and Parv have been amazingly supportive managers and are always happy to help whenever I have needed it.”
Mariana – St Ives Pharmacy
“Louise the manager here, and the entire team – have been so supportive and helpful. I love the lessons I am doing and learning new skills. I absolutely love it and hope to stay working in pharmacy.”
Mark – Nuffield Pharmacy
“I have almost finished my apprenticeship (level 2) and love the team I work with here at Nuffield. It is such a comfortable supportive environment. I have had some medical issues along the way and my managers Jas and Parv have been really understanding and gone out of their way to support me.”
Will – Nuffield Pharmacy
“I have especially enjoyed finding out how and why medications are used and engaging with a new environment and team.”
Thanks to Sarah Jevons at Skills4Pharmacy for being our dedicated account manager and being available to help whenever we need it.