Pharmacy employers need to recognise the importance of overall remuneration packages including perks and benefits such as flexible working hours in order to continue to attract the best candidates, according to the newly released Pharmacy Salary & Market Report from Raven’s Recruitment. Launched during last Fri’s inaugural Pharmacy Careers Summit by Ravens GM Heidi Dariz, it’s the sixth iteration of the report which tracks trends across the industry in Australia and New Zealand, focusing on pharmacist and intern roles both in capital cities and regional & rural areas. “Salaries are continuing to trend up, with many employers reviewing and increasing their current offerings in order to remain competitive and retain their staff,” Dariz said. “The number of vacant roles, as well as the time taken to fill these, has increased across both metropolitan and regional pharmacies,” she added, noting an ongoing marked shortage in the pharmacy workforce talent pool. While skilled migration routes have started to open, potentially helping fill some of the gaps, the time taken to process visa applications has meant this has done little to ease the current shortages, the report added. Prominent issues in recruitment have included flexibility and worklife balance, and “more pharmacists than ever are seeking part-time work rather than the traditional 40- hour plus work week”. “Employers who prioritise and accommodate this preference will find it easier to attract talented individuals,” Dariz suggested. Ravens also highlighted key opportunities in locum work, with the current shortages of pharmacists for permanent roles rendering locums more in demand than ever – leading to a “skyrocketing” in the wages paid to locum pharmacists in the last year. Average locum hourly rates range between $70 and $80 per hour in metropolitan areas, and higher in regional areas – an increase of up to 60% over the last five years. Ravens is currently seeking to fill more than 250 permanent pharmacist roles across the country, according to Ravens’ senior consultant Debbie Capuano. Salaries for pharmacist managers have reached an all-time high, she confirmed, with an average salary package of $120,000 per annum in cities and $165,000 in rural and regional areas. Pharmacist-in-charge roles attract an average pay of $105,000 in metropolitan areas, rising to $130,000 in rural Australia. Interestingly, while intern pharmacists have traditionally been paid according to the pharmacy industry award, this has started to change, with more than 30% of employers last year offering aboveaward salaries to new graduates in order to attract the top interns. Another new trend this year has seen some employers in rural areas offering sign-on bonuses to attract potential staff, along with a host of other benefits such as extra holidays, staff discounts, professional development opportunities, travel allowances, housing assistance and in one case even pet vacation care! “The shortage of pharmacists in rural areas is a pressing issue that has definitely reached a critical level,” Capuano said. To download the complete Raven’s 2023 Pharmacy Salary and Market Report available at no charge, CLICK HERE.