Open season on apprenticeship proposal

Plans for a new optometrist apprenticeship standard should be halted until further planning and a review of issues raised by stakeholders can be carried out, the College of Optometrists has said.

In a robust open letter to Skills for Health’s consultation via an open letter from College president professor Edward Mallen outlined the opposition the organisation’s members had expressed in response to the proposal.

In the letter, professor Mallen said: ‘We received more comments from members than we have previously received for any other consultation or policy topic. This indicates the strength of our members’ concern and depth of views on the apprenticeship proposal and its potential impact on optometry education and the optometric profession. The vast majority of respondents indicated that they were opposed to the proposed apprenticeship.’