SMC works to ensure training meets needs

The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers is working with the professional bodies, retailers and the optical industry in a strategic review to ensure that its training and education are cohesive and collaborative.

Chris Hunt, senior assistant on the court, responsible for the review of the SMC education programme, said it aimed to ensure that qualifications and training for technicians and practice support staff continued to meet employers' needs.

The joint group established that, excluding regulated professionals, over 30,000 people are employed in UK optics, and only 10 per cent hold any kind of accredited optical qualification, which he described as 'a sad reflection of optics as a whole'.