The journey Amerjit made into pharmacy was not necessarily the path he would have chosen for himself; in fact, as a young man, he had very different ambitions. But one person had a significant influence on the direction his life would take, and that person was his mother.
Today, that influence remains at the heart of why he founded Skills4Pharmacy back in 2015, and why he is so passionate about developing the people who make up the wider pharmacy team.
Growing up, Amerjit never expected to build a career in pharmacy; in fact, his early ambitions ranged from professional footballer to pursuing a Bollywood career. Pharmacy was a decision encouraged by his mother, who recognised an opportunity that he had not yet seen for himself. He went on to study pharmacy at the University of Sunderland before completing his pre-registration training with Lloyds Pharmacy.
“My mother taught me that the essence of living is giving. Everything good I have learned in business and in life came from her.”
Amerjit describes his mother as his greatest teacher, and one of the most important lessons she taught him was this: “The essence of living is giving”, and this would be a significant motto that stayed with him throughout his career.
From Pharmacist to Pharmacy Owner
After qualifying, Amerjit realised that he wanted to build something of his own, and in 1999 he opened his first pharmacy, followed by a second in 2001. Owning a pharmacy was about more than simply running a business; it gave him a firsthand understanding of the role community pharmacy plays in its local community, including the pressures faced by pharmacy owners and their teams. It also reinforced his belief in the importance of education.
Education had changed the trajectory of his own life; his pharmacy degree opened doors, provided opportunities and gave him the confidence to build a career and a business. Years later, that belief would become central to the creation of Skills4Pharmacy.
In 2015, Amerjit founded Skills4Pharmacy with one clear ambition: to help people develop the skills and qualifications needed to build a meaningful career in pharmacy. The vision extended beyond providing training; it was to help individuals progress and to provide people from all backgrounds with access to the same opportunities as he was – this commitment was always at the heart of the business.
The pharmacy sector needs talented, capable people at every level. Pharmacists are taking on increasingly clinical roles, while pharmacy and accuracy checking technicians and dispensers are taking on greater responsibilities within the wider pharmacy team. Developing these roles is not just about supporting individual careers, but about creating stronger, more capable pharmacy workforces.
The future of pharmacy depends on making better use of the combined skills across the entire team. As pharmacy services continue to expand, pharmacists need the time and capacity to focus on clinical services and patient care. That means empowering other members of the team to take on responsibilities that match their skills, training and career development.
Training for the Pharmacy of Tomorrow
At Skills4Pharmacy, training is designed around the needs of both the learners and employers; this means understanding what pharmacy businesses need from their teams, rather than delivering training in isolation.
Pharmacy Technicians have an increasingly important role to play in the future. Their responsibilities are expanding, and the profession has the potential to contribute even more to the delivery of pharmacy services. That is why training needs to keep evolving.
Skills4Pharmacy regularly engages with pharmacy contractors and employers to understand the skills, knowledge and capabilities they are looking for from Pharmacy Technicians, Accuracy Checking Technicians and Dispensers. Training therefore needs to prepare people not only for the role they are stepping into today, but for the opportunities that could come next.
Funding pressures, medicine shortages and increasing demands on pharmacy teams are creating a difficult environment for many businesses, and Amerjit has experienced those pressures first-hand through more than two decades in pharmacy; but despite those challenges, he remains optimistic about the profession.
Pharmacists need to be able to focus on clinical care, while the wider pharmacy team is empowered to take on greater responsibility - this is why workforce development matters.
The ambition is not simply to train people to complete a qualification; it is to help people gain skills, confidence and opportunities that can change the direction of their careers.
The future of pharmacy will not be shaped by one profession alone; it will be shaped by pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, dispensers, accuracy checking technicians and every member of the wider pharmacy team working together.
For Amerjit, helping people realise their potential is more than a business objective; it is a way of putting into practice one of the most meaningful lessons his mother taught him: the essence of living is giving.