Dispensing optician apprenticeship

Give advice on vision care, and supply glasses and contact lenses to suit customers’ needs

Dispensing opticians work in the healthcare industry, and it is a regulated profession. During a dispensing optician apprenticeship, you’ll work in various settings such as small practices, large multi-property practices, manufacturing, or possibly in patients’ own homes or residential care facilities. Day-to-day, you will review spectacle prescriptions and advise patients on optical options tailored to their personal needs. You’ll recommend suitable frames, lenses, filters, and coatings, take measurements, and maintain accurate records. During a dispensing optician apprenticeship, you’ll also learn to triage and refer patients, handle complex vision correction, and provide advice on eye conditions to both adults and children. You’ll need to be good at communicating with patients and colleagues, and follow optical, consumer, and healthcare regulations, and that means that you’ll supervise optical assistants, maintain a safe working environment, and deliver high standards of customer service. Upon completion of the dispensing optician apprenticeship, you can be a fully-fledged member of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians. 

Duration: 36 months 

Relevant school subjects: Science, Maths, English 

Entry requirements for the dispensing optician apprenticeship: Typically, 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent. 

Achievement upon completion: Level 6 (Higher)—equivalent to a bachelor’s degree 

Potential salary upon completion: £25,000 

Find out more: www.apprenticeshipguide.co.uk