Boots on pre-reg recruitment spree

Boots Opticians has this year taken on more than 100 pre-registration optometrists for the first time in anticipation of what it called 'a bright, successful future'.

The intake of 105 pre-regs was well up on the 72 taken on last year, in what Boots Opticians' director of professional development David Cartwright called a significant investment in training.

The firm expects to grow by examining increasing numbers of patients in existing premises rather than by opening more stores, said Cartwright.

He claimed the competition among employers for pre-reg optometrists had changed little over the past couple of years, with few extra positions being created. Pre-reg salaries have risen in recent years only in line with inflation, added Cartwright.