Participating in the Trainee Pharmacist Recruitment via Oriel for 2027 Intake

Written by AlisonFreemantle on Thursday 8th January 2026

Deadline to submit is midday on Tuesday 3 March 2026

If you wish to host a trainee pharmacist for the 2027-28 training year, you must register via the employer programme information online form. You will need to provide programme specific information and agree to meet the terms of participation.   

Significant changes have been implemented from the 2025 foundation training year onwards, in line with the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists reform programme mandated by the GPhC.  

The Terms of Participation have been updated to align with these changes. It is important that you carefully read these, even if you have participated before, as you will be asked to sign up to the updated NHS England Terms of Participation, and Health Education England’s Quality Framework as part of the registration process.   

As an existing employer, your employer details will be available by initially selecting the correct NHS England region followed by location (sector) and employer type, and then following the available selections in the online form. Once you have submitted your form, you will receive an email from noreply@holograph.digital with a copy of your submission, please check your junk mail folder if you cannot see this email.  

We strongly recommend that you download a copy of last year’s information, which was advertised on Oriel to assist you in preparing your 2026 submission. This is available in an excel spreadsheet called ‘Oriel NRS Employer Registration Prog Info 2025’; there is also a simple step by step guide called ‘How to guide for completing employer registration’. Both are available on the employer registration webpage.  

If you are submitting multiple forms for multiple programmes (one form completion per programme) it is advisable to keep a track of the programmes you have submitted to avoid duplication and to ensure you do not submit a programme which you do not plan to recruit to.   

 Employer Guidance   

Participating in the National Recruitment Scheme does not guarantee that your programme(s) will fill, as historically there have been more training places available than potential trainees to fill them. You can update your knowledge of the scheme by reading the Employer Handbook which contains step-by-step guidance on registering with the scheme and providing your employer programme information, a recruitment timeline and regional contact support details.   

Before submitting your employer programme submission form(s) we strongly advise you to read the guidance, paying particular attention to our advice on writing your programme description(s), as this is your main opportunity to promote your programme(s) to potential trainees.   

To complete your employer programme submission form(s) for 2026 (2027 intake) and to sign up for the scheme, please visit the web page here.  

Registration opened on Thursday 8th January.  

The deadline to submit your form(s) is midday on Tuesday 3 March 2026. Please note late submissions will not be accepted.  

For all further information please refer to the Employer Handbook.   

Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists (IETP): Further Information  

Full details on the IETP reforms, including narrated presentations, pdf summaries and FAQs can be found by accessing the following website:

https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/pharmacy/transforming-pharmacy-education-training/initial-education-training-pharmacists-reform-programme/implementing-foundation-pharmacist  

South East Region Support Sessions

The South East team are holding employer support sessions to provide the opportunity to discuss Oriel submissions, ask any questions and network with other placement providers in the South East. Please find the times and meeting links below:

Hampshire & Isle of Wight ICB Support

if you are an employer who needs support in developing a multi-sector partnership, please contact Amareen Kamboh, Head of Pharmacy Workforce: amareen.kamboh@nhs.net

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