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1 Identifying Preferred Candidates and the Matching Process: Trainer Guidance Recruitment 2018 Pre-Registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS) 2019 – 2020 TRAINING COHORT
Pre-Registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS) 2019/20
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Identifying Preferred Candidates and the Matching Process: Trainer Guidance Recruitment 2018
Pre-Registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS) 2019 – 2020 TRAINING COHORT
Pre-Registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS) 2019/20
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CONTENTS
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3
Identifying Preferred Candidates & Eliminating Discrimination...……..………………….……………………………….....4-5
Training Provider Preference List ………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………6
Immigration Guidance & Definitions…..…………………………………………………………………………………………………….7-9
Matching & Offers………………………………………..…………………………………………………….…………………………..…………10
Appendix A: Flowchart of the Trainee Recruitment Process 2018………………………………………………………………11
Appendix B: Pre-Registration Pharmacist Trainee Person Specification 2018………………..……………………………12
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Introduction
Recruitment of pre-registration pharmacist trainees for the 2019/20 PRPS training year opened on 1 May 2018 with a closing date for applications of 31 May 2018. The centralised assessment event for places in the scheme will take place on Tuesday 4, Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 September 2018. As in previous years, there are two elements to an applicant being selected for a place in the scheme. These are:
• Eligibility - determined by total score in the application process (i.e. the score obtained from their application form (if shortlisting applied), multiple choice question (MCQ), written & verbal assessments) and
• Success - eligible applicants being matched to Training Providers (via stated preferences) The matching exercise is aimed at ensuring that it is the Training Providers who make the final decision as to the trainee(s) that are recruited and is based on Training Providers’ and applicants’ stated preferences. This document provides Training Providers with further details of the matching exercise that will be undertaken this year and also gives Training Providers information on identifying preferred candidates, fair selection principles and immigration policy guidance.
IMPORTANT: whilst all applicants will be invited to Assessment Centre,
only those appearing on a Training Provider Preference List will be able to match in the first offer round. Those who do not appear on a Training Provider Preference List may have the opportunity to match during a
second offer round, should this be required.
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Identifying Preferred Candidates TPIS published 12 March 2018
It is your responsibility to select and preference the candidates you wish to work with. Prior to placing a candidate on your Preference List, you are advised to conduct your own identification process which is adequately documented. You must satisfy yourself that candidates on your preference list will meet the criteria outlined in the Person Specification, including pre-employment checks e.g. PVG membership via Disclosure Scotland, right to work in the UK etc. The Training Provider’s list of preferred candidates will have arisen from summer placement programmes, part-time working or work experience, interviews or, indeed, any contact between applicant and Training Provider. When completing your preference list you should include only your preferred candidates. You MUST NOT include any candidate on your list that you would not be willing to employ. Some Training Providers recruit from their summer placements and, in previous years, a number of Training Providers have conducted their own interviews prior to the NES event in September, in order to identify the applicants they are interested in recruiting. NES strongly urges Training Providers to consider identification of their preferred candidates in this way. It is important to treat all candidates interested in undertaking pre-registration training with you in the same way, including those on summer placements/work experience, i.e. all potential candidates should have the same criteria applied to them and should be asked the same questions.
It is important to keep copies of all relevant documentation used during
the process of identifying preferred candidates. You may need to refer back to the documentation to answer questions relating to ‘non-preferenced’
candidates.
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Training Providers should be aware that if you preference a candidate that requires Tier 2 sponsorship, you will be required to obtain a sponsor license (if you do not possess this already) in order to sponsor the migrant. As a Training Provider, it is your responsibility to be aware of the requirements of sponsoring a candidate that requires Tier 2 sponsorship. Training Providers will also be asked to indicate on their Preference List whether or not they would be able to sponsor a Tier 2 trainee, should this be required. Current UKVI policy will be applicable to the recruitment process. For further information regarding immigration, please refer to the Immigration Guidance section, below. Please note, ALL applicants recruited into the PRPS MUST have applied to join the scheme via the national recruitment exercise. Please be clear, also, that the purpose of the NES Assessment Centre in September is to identify a “pool” of candidates for selection into the scheme. The panel members taking part in the assessments are not selecting candidates for their own organisation.
Eliminating Discrimination & Advancing Equality of Opportunity
Candidates are advised to make contact with all of their preferred Training Providers prior to the selection process to discuss opportunities for part-time employment, work experience or, at least, to arrange to visit the pharmacy to discuss pre-registration training opportunities. All applicants should be treated the same and you should be consistent in your questioning and assessment of candidates. It is only natural to hold attitudes/prejudices/make assumptions – but you need to be aware that these may influence your choices and ensure that any recruitment decisions that you make are based on objective assessments of information. Selection decisions should be made against the NES PRPS selection criteria and not including any irrelevant or discriminatory information or assumptions. Please refer to the PRPS Trainee Person Specification (Appendix B) for further details of the selection criteria. Sources of further employment law information:
ACAS
http://www.acas.org.uk
Citizens Advice Bureau http://www.citizensadvice
.org.uk/
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Preference List 29 June – 27 July 2018
Training Providers submit their Preference List via the online recruitment system; the Preference List section will be activated at the end of June 2018. Each Training Provider must complete the list and submit it by the deadline of 27 July 2018. The system will close at this time. As such, it will not be possible to add any further candidates to your Preference List after the 27 July 2018. The ranked order (i.e. order of preference) can be amended up to 20 August 2018, and candidates can also be removed. When completing the Preference List, Training Providers will be required to enter the candidate’s application reference number in order to generate the candidate’s name on their list. Each candidate will receive notification of their reference number upon submitting their application and will be advised that Training Providers will be asking them for this number. Training Providers will also be asked to indicate whether or not they have, or would be willing to apply for, a Home Office/UKVI Certificate of Sponsorship, which is required for employing a trainee who requires sponsorship under Tier 2 of the UKVI Points Based System. For further information regarding this, please refer to the Immigration Guidance section, below. Training Providers will have provided a number of training places available in their Training Provider Information Statement (TPIS) and will be asked to re-confirm this number by the 20 August 2018 deadline. Training Providers who do not provide a list of names and who do not confirm their sponsorship status or number of training places, cannot be matched in the first offer round, however, may be able to re-join the recruitment process at a second offer round, should this be required. (A second offer round would only be required if places remain unfilled after the first offer round.)
Further guidance specifically detailing how to complete the online Preference List will be circulated when the form is activated in June 2018.
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Immigration Guidance
Overseas applicants will be required to demonstrate that they hold a visa that allows them to undertake employment within the UK, by the start of the training period on 29 July 2019. It is the responsibility of the employer to check and ensure that employees have the right to work within the UK. Any employer found to be employing someone illegally will be subject to severe financial penalty imposed by the Home Office. A candidate’s immigration status should not be used as part of the selection criteria. Training Providers may wish to ask for evidence of a candidate’s immigration status during the visitation period; this should be asked of all candidates consistently, and only for the purposes of supporting any candidates that may be required to switch visas before the employment period commences.
DEFINITIONS: What is the Resident Labour Market Test? An employer may want to recruit a migrant from outside the settled workforce for a skilled job. The employer can only do this if a resident labour market test is completed and it can be demonstrated that there is no suitable settled worker who can do the job. The resident labour market test is a set of criteria determined by UKVI, which must be met. The PRPS recruitment process does not satisfy the RLMT, and an exemption must therefore be applicable. What is the Shortage Occupation List? Specific types of work that have been officially listed as occupations for which there are not enough resident workers to fill available jobs. In November 2011, Pharmacy was removed from the Shortage Occupation List and the PRPS is therefore no longer eligible for the RLMT exemptions that the List carried. What is the Immigration Skills Charge? From April 2017 the Home Office has introduced an immigration skills charge on UK employers recruiting skilled migrant labour from outside the European Economic Area through the Tier 2 visa route. Employers will pay £1,000 per Tier 2 migrant sponsored per year, with a reduced rate of £364 per migrant per year for small and charitable sponsors. For occupations skilled to PhD level, students switching from Tier 4 to Tier 2, and the Intra Company Transfer Graduate Trainee category, the Tier 2 sponsor will not be required to pay the immigration skills charge.
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Immigration Categories & the PRPS Recruitment Process
Tier 1 General and Post Study Work The Tier 1 Post Study visa route closed indefinitely for new applications in April 2012 and this route is therefore no longer an option for Tier 4 General Student visa holders who are required to switch visa prior to commencing post. Tier 2 Sponsorship (previously known as ‘Work Permit’) To employ a worker who requires sponsorship under Tier 2, employers will need to hold a sponsorship licence and be able to demonstrate that they have met the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) requirements. In accordance with current Home Office Policy (as of March 2017) some exemptions from satisfying the RLMT apply. An employer can only recruit a migrant under Tier 2 if: a) an RLMT has been completed
OR
b) the job is exempt from the RLMT Candidates switching from another Tier (e.g. Tier 1 or Tier 4) are exempt from this requirement if they have graduated from a UK university within the last 12 months, and will therefore be included alongside UK/EEA candidates during matching and releasing offers. Candidates who require Tier 2 sponsorship but who do not currently hold a visa (e.g. applying from overseas, visa has expired, etc) are not exempt from this requirement. Additionally, candidates who fall into this category cannot satisfy the RLMT due to a specific requirement to issue the Certificate of Sponsorship within 6 months of the post first being advertised. Candidates who fall into this category will therefore be excluded from the process at the long-listing stage, unless they can provide evidence of eligibility to apply under a different visa category. If you do not hold an employer sponsorship licence you cannot legally employ someone who requires a Tier 2 visa. Workers who require Tier 2 sponsorship cannot undertake employment in the UK without being sponsored by an employer. As previously mentioned, you must be aware that if you preference a candidate that requires Tier 2 sponsorship you will be required to obtain a sponsor license (if you do not possess this already) in order to sponsor the migrant. As an employer, it is your responsibility to be aware of the requirements of sponsoring a candidate that requires Tier 2 sponsorship, both prior to appointment and for the duration of the training period.
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For further information on becoming a Tier 2 sponsorship licence holder please refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sponsor-a-tier-2-or-5-worker-guidance-for-employers Tier 4 Overseas Students Tier 4 visa holders have been granted a visa to allow them to complete a course of study within the UK and must switch to another Tier in order to legally work (for more than 20 hours per week) in the UK. Tier 4 visa holders may be eligible to apply for a Tier 2 visa if they are sponsored by an employer with a sponsorship licence. Candidates would be required to switch to a Tier 2 visa and gain sponsorship by an employer, by the start of the training period i.e. 29 July 2019. Tier 5 Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme Applicants who fall into the above category may also have the right to work in the UK and will require a visa from the Home Office which indicates the conditions of their right to work in the UK. Further information is available, here: Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme ‘Family of a settled person’, ‘Dependent of a PBS visa holder’ or ‘UK Ancestry Visa’ Applicants who fall into the above categories may also have the right to work in the UK and will require a visa from the Home Office which indicates the conditions of their right to work in the UK. If you would like further information regarding immigration and the PRPS process please contact a member of the Pharmacy Recruitment team at [email protected]
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Matching & Offers
The “preferred candidate” is a pharmacy student (current or graduated) that the Training Provider will be happy to recruit as a pre-registration trainee pharmacist in their organisation/pharmacy. For each applicant to the scheme, NES will list against their name all of the Training Providers who have named them as a preferred candidate. Each candidate will also complete an online Preference List providing NES with their list of preferred Training Providers. As stated previously, the applicant scores for each phase (the application form, the MCQ, verbal & written assessments) will be cumulative throughout the process with the applicants’ final score determining their place in the ranked list of applicants eligible to be recruited into the scheme. After the Assessment Centre, NES will have a ranked list of eligible candidates and, for each, we will have their list of preferred Training Providers, and the names of the Training Provider(s) listing them as a preferred candidate. The first round of matching can now take place. Matching is carried out in score order and in accordance with the candidate’s order of preference for Training Provider. Where the Training Provider’s preference can be matched with the applicant’s preference, this placement will be offered by NES in writing. The candidate will be asked to confirm their acceptance or rejection of the offer in writing, within a 48 hour deadline. Candidates who have not matched to their highest preferenced Training Provider may also ‘hold’ their offer until 28 September 2018. Please note that NES will not consult further with the Training Provider prior to making the offer – the assumption is that if the candidate is on their preferred list then they are happy for an offer to be made. Only offers made by NES will be considered valid; Training Providers must not make offers directly to candidates. Following written acceptance of an offer, NES will provide the Training Provider with a copy of the application form and supporting documentation of the successful candidate(s). The Training Provider should then commence their own pre-employment checks. Further information regarding the offers and handover processes, will be published at the relevant time in the recruitment cycle.
Should you have any further questions regarding the 2018 Recruitment and Selection process, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Pharmacy Recruitment Team via: [email protected]
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APPENDIX A – Recruitment Flow-chart
Visitation and Placement period begins. Training Providers should be aware of legislation but, to avoid the risk of perceived discrimination, should check the immigration status of all candidates who contact them
Applications received by NES for PRPS training posts
Applications are scored. Shortlisted applicants who are included on any Training Provider list, are invited to Assessment Centre in score order
Training Providers submit Preference List by deadline: 27 July 2018
NES Assessment Centre takes place: 4, 5 & 6 Sept 2018. Candidates take part in assessments. These scores are added to the candidate application score and a ranked list of candidates is obtained
Candidates submit Preference List by deadline: 7 September 2018 @ 12 noon
Matching takes place & Conditional offers released (qualification and right to work in the UK to be evidenced to the Training Provider following Handover)
Students graduate. Any candidates who require a Tier 2 visa apply to Home Office. Training Provider is required to have sponsorship licence in place
Does prospective trainee have right to work in UK?
NO If trainee does not obtain right to work in UK then cannot commence post
YES Provided all other conditions are met, contracts can be issued and signed
TRAINING POSTS COMMENCE W/C 29 JULY
2019
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APPENDIX B – 2018 Person Specification
*At application stage, NES HR will check candidates are due to complete an MPharm, and have the right to work in the UK, by date of post commencement. Employer to verify successful completion by sighting original degree certificate/immigration documents, as part of pre-employment checks.
2018 Recruitment – Person Specification
FACTOR CRITERIA
The candidate has: ESSENTIAL/ DESIRABLE
QUALIFICATIONS • a Masters degree in pharmacy or equivalent (must be achieved on commencement of appointment) ESSENTIAL
EXPERIENCE • previous experience of pharmacy practice DESIRABLE
KNOWLEDGE
• knowledge of current developments and policy affecting pharmacy practice in NHS Scotland DESIRABLE
• knowledge of the PRPS and the pre-registration training year DESIRABLE
• awareness of medicines use in major therapeutic areas ESSENTIAL
ATTITUDES AND ATTRIBUTES
• a professional attitude and an understanding of professionalism ESSENTIAL
• numeracy skills ESSENTIAL
• effective verbal and written communication skills ESSENTIAL
• organisational skills including ability to plan and prioritise own workload to meet deadlines ESSENTIAL
• problem-solving skills ESSENTIAL
• the ability to work well on own initiative ESSENTIAL
• the ability to work well with others and has an understanding of the benefits of team working ESSENTIAL
• a person-centred focus ESSENTIAL
• a proven commitment to continuing professional development DESIRABLE
OTHER
• included on a Training Provider Preference List ESSENTIAL
• registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council to undertake pre-registration training (on appointment)
ESSENTIAL
PRE-EMPLOYMENT CHECKS
• successful completion of MPharm – degree certificate*
• PVG Scheme clearance
• references
• identity checks and right to work in the UK
ESSENTIAL
