Approval has been granted by the GOC to start recruiting students for the first dispensing optician apprenticeship that will be delivered by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO).
Samara Morgan, GOC head of education and CPD development, said: ‘An apprenticeship scheme will offer another pathway for potential dispensing opticians to earn their qualification, whilst still ensuring they are training through a qualification that has been approved and quality assured by us.’
Morgan added that the GOC would continue working with ABDO to ensure the apprenticeship meets all of its requirements for full approval. ABDO can now begin recruiting students to start training under the level 6 apprenticeship from September 2024 at its various centres.
Once the first cohort of students reaches the final year of study, the GOC will make a final decision whether to approve the apprenticeship qualification based on if it meets education and training requirements. ABDO said it worked with ABDO College, Bradford College, City and Islington College and the GOC to ensure the high standards of the profession will be maintained.
Miranda Richardson, head of professional qualifications and education at ABDO, said: ‘It is a great achievement to reach the point of enrolling apprentices on the Level 6 Dispensing Optician Apprenticeship.
'Building on the work of the employers’ Trailblazer Group that developed the Apprenticeship Standard, it has been a collective effort to deliver the first qualification for dispensing opticians that will benefit from government funding.’
