Opposition to apprenticeship plans

A petition urging the GOC to reject the introduction of apprenticeship degrees for optometry in the UK has been posted to change.org. Garnering over 5,200 signatures just two days after being posted, the petition has tapped into the anxieties of many optometrists.

The petition states that irreparable damage would be done to the public’s perception of what it means to be an optometrist, suggesting that corporate desire to lower wages is behind the proposed apprenticeship scheme.

Former City University professor of optometry and visual science David Thomson signed the petition, telling Optician: ‘An ageing population and better technology is going to change optometry radically in the next 10 years. There will be a need for fewer, better-trained optometrists; it’s absolutely ridiculous to train more, down-skilled optometrists.