The Pharmacy Technology training program at Springdale Job Corps Center has just graduated its first three students. Pharmacy Tech has been up and running since September 2014 and after the first year, instructor Alison Mahar is excited to see her first three graduates leave with jobs and on their way to careers at the pharmacies and hospitals in the area.

“We decided to add Pharmacy Tech as a training option for a couple of reasons,” said center director Naomi Ulsted. “The healthcare industry is the one of the fastest growing employers in our state. The careers in that field are vast and varied and Pharmacy Technology opens the door to one are of the healthcare field.”

The graduates, Regan Brantley, Kimberli Rieksts, and Kimber Jones, have all entered the pharmacy field in different areas. Regan is working at a local Rite Aid, Kimberli has a position with McKesson, a company that provides medical devices, and Kimber works for Vetsource, a company that fills prescriptions for pets via mail order.

Kimberli, Regan, and Kimber have all gone in to different areas of the pharmacy technology industry,” explained Alison, the Pharmacy Technology instructor. “I’m excited to see them take their training and apply it in such different ways. It really shows how the training is preparing them for the current market.”

Kimber Jones sees her new position as one more step in her long-term career goals. “I want to work with animals,” she says. “Being a pharmacy technician for a pet pharmacy may seem like an odd way to start that path, but it’s opened doors for me.”

“These three young women just show we made the right choice in bringing Pharmacy Technology to Springdale,” continued Naomi. “We can’t wait to have more students complete their training and transition in to exciting jobs.”