Medical Receptionist - Nelspruit
Nelspruit
22 days ago
A General Surgeon is opening up a new practice in Nelspruit and requires a competent and strong administrator to support his practice
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Pharmacist Assistant
Capetown
12 days ago
Pharmacist
assistant (Locum)
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Pharmacy Assistant Jobs
Here’s a comprehensive, Q&A-style guide to Pharmacy Assistant jobs in South Africa - covering what the role entails, where the work is located, how to qualify, a typical pay scale, and how to build a long, safe, well-paid career in the trade.
What exactly does a Pharmacy Assistant do?
A Pharmacy Assistant is a multi-skilled artisan who installs, maintains, diagnoses, repairs, and optimises industrial machinery and plant equipment. Think of a Pharmacy Assistant as the “mechanical-electrical all-rounder” on site: one day you’re aligning a large pump set; the next you’re fault-finding a variable speed drive (VSD), calibrating sensors, welding a bracket, or stripping a gearbox. Pharmacy Assistants typically bridge the gap between mechanical fitters and industrial electricians – they need to be strong in both areas, with sufficient instrumentation/control knowledge to solve real-world plant issues.
What are a Pharmacy Assistant’s core responsibilities?
Their core, on-the job duties include:
• installing and commissioning new plants (i.e. mechanical assembly, electrical connections, alignment, and testing);
• planned maintenance (i.e. lubrication, inspections, adjustments, and replacements);
• breakdown response (i.e. fault-finding across mechanical, electrical, and basic control systems);
• precision tasks (i.e. laser alignment, shaft coupling, tolerances, fits, and clearances);
• fabrication and minor machining (i.e. welding, cutting, drilling, grinding, and turning basics);
• documentation and reporting (job cards, spares usage, and root cause analyses);
and
• safety control (lock-out/tag-out, isolations, permits to work, and risk assessments).
Where do Pharmacy Assistants work in South Africa?
You’ll find Pharmacy Assistants wherever there’s heavy machinery in use, or continuous production going on. Work can be plant-based (shifts, continuous process) or field-service (call-outs, travel to client sites).
The below types of industries form a good guide:
• manufacturing – i.e. at FMCG plants,
in the automotive industry, in foundries, and where steel, chemicals, paper and pulp, cement, plastics, and the glass are being produced or manufactured;
• mining and minerals – i.e. in the gold, platinum, coal, and iron ore industries,
and at concentrators, smelters, and refineries;
• energy &
utilities – i.e. at power stations, in the renewables industry, and where water and wastewater are being treated;
•
logistics & ports – i.e. where conveyors, cranes, and container-handling equipment is in use;
•
agri-processing – i.e. in milling, canning, cold storage, and at packhouses;
and
• facilities & commercial – i.e. at
HVAC plants, and where elevators or other large building services are needed (typically, at hospitals, shopping malls, and campuses).
What qualifications do I need to become a Pharmacy Assistant?
There are two common pathways to the role, both culminating in a Trade Test and “Red Seal” status, which is a nationally recognised artisan certification:
Pathway A:
TVET + Apprenticeship
• School: Grade 12 (Matric) with Mathematics, Physical Science, and a technical subject is ideal;
• College: N2–N3 (sometimes N4–N6), in relevant subjects such as Electrical Trade Theory, Mechanotechnology, Industrial Electronics, and Engineering Drawing;
• Apprenticeship: Enter a Pharmacy Assistant apprenticeship with an employer (often via merSETA, or via other SETA funding). You’ll log on-the-job training hours, and complete institutional training modules;
and
• Trade Test: After meeting the training and workplace requirements, you sit the Trade Test. Passing earns you your Red Seal as a Pharmacy Assistant.
Pathway B: Occupational/
QCTO Route
• Complete a QCTO-aligned occupational qualification, with integrated workplace learning. On competence, you’re admitted to the external trade test;
OR
• Experienced workers without formal qualifications can compile a portfolio of evidence and, if assessed competent, can be admitted to trade testing.
Tickets and extras that will help include the ability to work at heights and in confined spaces, forklift/crane operation, first aid, firefighting experience, lockout/tagout (LOTO), rigging & slinging basics, and a safety, health, and environmental (SHE) representative qualification or experience.
What skills make a strong Pharmacy Assistant?
A professional Pharmacy Assistant needs a strong combination of mechanical mastery, electrical capability, instrumentation/control basics, a diagnostics mindset, fabrication ability, safety and compliance know-how, and soft skills to be able to deal effectively with his team members and managers.
Here's a YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxjIb2iTjc4 that explains more.
What does a typical day look like?
A day often blends shift handovers, inspections, repairs, electrical tasks, projects, paperwork, and safety. Read on for more detail under each task:
- shift handover: review plant status, open work orders, and prioritise breakdowns;
• inspections: vibration/temperature checks, lubrication, belt/chain tension, leaks, and wear;
• repairs: replace bearings, seals; align shafts; change out motors; adjust conveyors; and fix leaks;
• electrical tasks: motor tests, insulation checks, change sensors, set VSD parameters, and isolate/energise safely;
• projects: install new equipment, route cable trays, build panels (under supervision if required), test and commission;
• paperwork: job cards, spares requisitions, update maintenance logs and CMMS;
and
• safety: toolbox talk, risk assessment, permits, lockouts, and housekeeping.
How much do Pharmacy Assistants earn in South Africa?
Pay varies by province, industry, shift pattern, and experience. However, the broad (approximate) monthly gross ranges are as follows:
• apprentice: R6 000 to R12 000 (stipends vary widely);
• newly qualified (0–2 years): R18 000 to R28 000;
• experienced (3–7 years): R28 000 to R45,000+;
• senior/lead/foreman: R45 000 to R65,000+;
and
• site/project roles, mining/smelting/remote: premiums and allowances can push totals higher.
Add-ons may include a shift allowance (five to 20 percent), standby pay, call-out fees, overtime (as allocated per BCEA rules), scarce-skills or housing allowances on remote sites, and bonuses linked to uptime/production.
Contracting/hourly work can pay more per hour but may be less consistent and exclude benefits.
Read more about a Pharmacy Assistant’s job outlook and salary, here.
Are Pharmacy Assistants in demand?
Yes – scarce-skills dynamics, retiring artisans, expanding automation, and continuous-process industries keep demand resonably strong. Mining, FMCG, and packaging often advertise multiple roles. Candidates with PLC exposure, a strong safety record, and willingness to work shifts/remote locations are especially competitive.
Note: PLC programming skills are not needed to qualify as a Pharmacy Assistant, but basic PLC literacy (consisting of I/O, ladder basics, and tracing faults) is a strong advantage and will boost your pay considerably.
Pharmacy Assistant vs electrician vs fitter – what’s the difference?
A fitter focuses on mechanical fitting – i.e. pumps, valves, gearboxes, conveyors, pipework – and less on the electrical side of things;
An electrician (in industrial settings) focuses on electrical power and control – i.e. motors, MCCs, VSDs, and PLC wiring – and less on the heavy mechanical side of things.
And a Pharmacy Assistant takes a hybrid stance, although representing a unique role unto itself, His or her job spec is solid mechanical, with working electrical competence and some instrumentation. This is often deal for plants wanting one artisan, who can resolve most equipment issues from end-to-end.
What tools and equipment should a Pharmacy Assistant be comfortable with?
There’s quite an extensive list of these, See below:
- hand/power Tools: spanners, torque wrenches, pullers, dial indicators, micrometers, drills, grinders, and impact wrenches;
• alignment and measurement: laser alignment kits, feeler gauges, verniers, bore gauges, and straight edges;
• electrical test gear: multimeters, clamp meters, insulation testers, and basic loop testers;
• lifting and rigging: chain blocks, slings, shackles, jacks, and come-alongs (with proper rigging training);
• welding and cutting: arc/MIG basics, and oxy-fuel cutting (with permits);
• diagnostics: vibration pens, and thermal imagers (where available);
and
• admin/systems: CMMS (SAP PM, Pragma/On Key, etc.), reading OEM manuals, and updating maintenance logs.
Here's the first in a three-part series, i.e. Pharmacy Assistant Hand Tools Lesson 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e5hZLLBSI4.
What are the health and safety essentials inherent in a Pharmacy Assistant role?
A few of these, potentially the most important ones, involve:
• never working on live or energised equipment;
• never bypassing permits and risk assessments when working In hot or confined space, and/or at heights;
• replacing machine guards before energising – interlocks matter;
• use of rated slings and hardware, and the intention never to stand under suspended loads;
• eye/hand/foot protection, hearing protection in noisy areas, and arc-rated gear if doing electrical isolations near live sections;
• ameliorating the slip and trip hazards of oil spills, swarf, and offcuts;
and
• also taking note of the OHS Act, Driven Machinery Regulations, and Electrical Installation Regulations, together with site standards and SANS codes.
A clean safety record boosts employability and promotion prospects.
How do I find and land a Pharmacy Assistant job?
Look out for suitable Pharmacy Assistant jobs on company career pages in your target sectors (FMCG, mining houses, packaging, power, ports), on job boards, via recruiters specialising in engineering/artisans, and on LinkedIn. OEMs and service contractors (across conveyors, pumps, compressors, cranes, and packaging lines) may also post available role from time to time.
A few useful tips to help you secure a job in the application stage, include:
• leading your CV with your Trade Test (Pharmacy Assistant, Red Seal), years of experience, sectors worked, and top equipment planned maintenance/breakdown achievements;
• showcasing multi-discipline wins: e.g. “Cut unplanned downtime by 18 percent, by implementing a VSD retrofit and bearing monitoring route”;
• quantifying: MTBF improvements, OEE gains, cost savings, and mean time to repair (MTTR) reductions;
• listing equipment and systems you’ve worked on (e.g., Krones, Tetra Pak, Siemens/Allen-Bradley drives, SKF bearings, and Atlas Copco compressors);
and
• including safety: LOTO, zero-harm stats, safety awards, and risk assessment leadership.
What interview questions should I expect – and how best should I answer?
- “Walk me through a recent breakdown you solved.”
Structure your answer: symptom → diagnostics steps (mechanical & electrical) → root cause → corrective action → preventative measure;
• “How do you ensure alignment on a motor-pump set?”
Mention soft-foot checks, rough alignment, dial/laser alignment, thermal growth consideration, torque to spec, and re-verification;
• “Explain how you’d fault-find a motor that keeps tripping on overload.”
Mechanical load checks (binding), electrical checks (insulation, current imbalance), drive parameters, ventilation, bearing condition, and supply quality;
• “What’s your approach to Lockout–Tagout (LOTO)?”
Step-by-step isolate, lock and tag, test for dead, verify zero energy (including stored energy: hydraulic, pneumatic), and maintain control of your key;
- “What CMMS metrics have you improves?”
PM compliance, backlog reduction, response time, MTBF/MTTR, sand pares optimisation;
• “How comfortable are you with PLCs?”
Be honest: wiring I/O, reading simple ladder, forcing I/O under supervision, tracing faults via status LEDs/HMI alarms, and escalating to control specialists when needed.
How can apprentices and new artisans aim to stand out?
There are six ways you can make an impact on your employer and team mates. Ask for rotations, keep a logbook, learn the plant, shadow specialists, upskill (i.e. with short courses on VSDs, bearings and lubrication, hydraulics/pneumatics, basic PLC and instrumentation), and adopt a reliability mindset (i.e. where you Introduce simple checks and report small anomalies early).
What certifications or memberships matter?
There are five types of certifications that you should ideally invest in:
- the trade test (Red Seal), which is a key credential for professional Pharmacy Assistants;
• SETA/merSETA/training provider statements as relates to your modules completed;
• OEM courses across the likes of Krones, Siemens, Festo, Allen-Bradley, Danfoss, SEW Eurodrive, and SKF, because short courses add credibility;
• safety Courses:, including first aid, firefighting, incident investigation, working at heights, and in confined spaces;
and
• professional body accreditations (i.e. from engineering institutes, and reliability societies) which, although not mandatory for artisans, can help with networking and CPD-style learning.
What is the trade test like?
Expect both theory and practical assessments aligned to the Pharmacy Assistant scope. The theoretical component will test you on mechanical principles, electrical fundamentals, motors and drives, safety, lubrication, materials, tolerances, and basic instrumentation; while the practical component will assess your abilities when it comes to stripping/assembling gearboxes/pumps, aligning shafts, wiring and testing motors/starters, fault-finding circuits, fabricating simple components, interpreting diagrams, and applying LOTO and safe work practices.
Preparation tips include revising N2/N3 subjects and trade theory notes; practising precision measurement, alignment, and safe electrical tests; and refreshing fault-finding logic (i.e. from symptoms to root causes).
What’s does the typical the career path look like for a Pharmacy Assistant?
The average career path looks something like this:
• Pharmacy Assistant (Artisan) → Senior/Lead Artisan → Chargehand/Foreman → Maintenance Supervisor → Maintenance Planner → Maintenance Manager/Engineer (with further study).
Otherwise, you could follow a more specialist track (i.e. that of a reliability technician, condition monitoring technician (vibration analysis, thermography), OEM field service engineer, instrumentation technician (with upskilling), or commissioning specialist.
Business or project paths could start at the role of a site manager or project coordinator, and progress to that of a shutdown/outage planner, a maintenance consultant, or a contractor owner.
Remember that further education (e.g. N6, National Diplomas, BTech/BEng later) can open doors to engineering technologist or engineer roles, especially when you have strong plant experience under your belt.
What’s the difference between a plant Pharmacy Assistant and a field service Pharmacy Assistant?
A plant Pharmacy Assistant tends to be embedded at one facility, has a deep knowledge of that plant, works shifts, is responsible for uptime and PMs, and works closely with production-focused team members.
On the other hand, a field service Pharmacy Assistant tends rather to travel to and between many different sites, requires stronger client-facing skills, often works what are considered unpredictable hours, and – while he or she enjoys a better day rate – is required to do a great deal more administration.
How do overtime, shifts, and standby usually work?
- Shifts: 24/7 plants use 12-hour shifts or three-shift rotations, and shift allowances commonly apply;
• Standby: consists of weekly rotations, with fixed standby pay plus call-out payment;
• Overtime: typically consists of 1.5 times on weekdays/Saturdays and 2 times on Sundays/public holidays (subject to BCEA and company policy);
and
• Shutdowns/turnarounds: involve intense work periods with long hours, which are excellent for experience and earnings but can be demanding if you don’t rest well and hydrate during your downtime.
What are the most common mistakes that new Pharmacy Assistants make, and how can I avoid making these mistakes myself?
Be sure not to skip the basics (i.e. not checking soft-foot or using the wrong torque, which can lead to repeat failures), don’t take shortcuts (i.e. remember to follow LOTO procedure each and every time), and don’t over rely on guesswork (i.e. rather use data related to amperage, vibration, temperatures, and/or backlash measurements) to make your decisions. Also remember to write clearly and to document thoroughly in the handover process, to make good calls as to when it is time to call instrumentation/controls or OEM support, and always verify part numbers, seals, and fits before installation to avoid spare part mix-ups.
This YouTube clip gives a good example of a Pharmacy Assistant fail that you can aim to avoid.
What future trends are shaping Pharmacy Assistant work?
Upskilling in controls/instrumentation and reliability engineering tools will keep you relevant and highly employable with the changes that are afoot in Pharmacy Assistant work. These include:
- industry 4.0 – more smart sensors, HMIs, SCADA, and data-driven maintenance;
• condition-based maintenance – vibration, ultrasound, thermography, and oil analysis;
• energy efficiency – VSD retrofits, compressed air leak reduction, and heat recovery;
• automation & robotics – packaging, palletising, and AGVs all require new maintenance skill sets;
and
• sustainability – Water reuse, waste heat, environmentally responsible lubrication and disposal practices are becoming paramount.
Read more about sustainability in the industrial sector, here.
How can women and career-changers break into the Pharmacy Assistant trade?
Companies increasingly support and recruit women artisans, but it is important to apply confidently and to seek employers with robust diversity and safety policies.
When it comes to career changes, be sure to leverage recognition of prior learning (RPL) for existing experience, and thereafter to complete targeted college modules and secure workplace exposure to meet your trade test requirements.
As is the case in breaking into any new career niche, joining networks, find a Pharmacy Assistant mentor, and requesting challenging rotations will all allow you to build the necessary confidence and credibility.
This article is useful in explaining the importance of a more diverse workforce within the trade environment.
What are “golden rules” for long-term success as a Pharmacy Assistant?
Ten important to-do’s on your list should include:
- Safety before speed. No exceptions.
- Measure, don’t guess. Let data guide any repairs you carry out.
- Protect bearings. Cleanliness, correct fits, alignment, and lubrication are everything.
- Close the loop. Document work; note learnings; and update planned maintenance (PMs) schedules.
- Invest in yourself. One short course per quarter compounds quickly.
- Teach and mentor. Coaching juniors strengthens your own mastery.
- Own your spares. Keep critical spares lists accurate and accessible.
- Build vendor relationships. OEMs and suppliers can save you hours during breakdowns.
- Think reliability. Avoid quick fixes and rather aim for permanent solutions.
- Stay curious about controls. Even basic PLC/HMI literacy will make you invaluable.
According to the experts at Condustrial, “Pharmacy Assistants need a medley of skills. Mechanical aptitude is paramount, alongside problem-solving abilities to troubleshoot complex machinery issues. Moreover, a keen eye for detail, dexterity, and physical stamina are indispensable. As machinery evolves, so should a Pharmacy Assistant’s technical skills, underlined by a commitment to lifelong learning.”
What should apprentices prioritise during training?
Remember to master the fundamentals (i.e. bearings, seals, fits, alignment, and motor control basics); learn to read drawings well and to make neat sketches yourself (i.e. mechanical, electrical, and P&IDs), get comfortable with measurements (i.e. torque wrenches, dial indicators, and micrometers), and practice safe isolations (i.e. make LOTO second nature.
Further, a learning plan is a great idea – so each quarter, pick two or three competencies to deepen and/or invest in (e.g. hydraulics, or VSDs); and reflect carefully after each job (i.e. What failed, what worked well, and why? How can I improve in the future?).
Here’s more information about getting started in the field, In South Africa.
What will make a plant wish to hire you, specifically?
Qualities such as versatility, a reliability focus, great communication skills, ownership of your work, and practising safety leadership will put you among the top candidates for any given role. Here’s a bit more reason why each of these characteristics are vitally important to your potential employer:
• versatility – you handle both mechanical and electrical tasks up to your competence, and call in specialists when needed;
• reliability focus – you don’t just replace parts, you eliminate root causes;
• communication – you offer clear handovers, accurate job cards, and respectful teamwork to those in production;
• ownership – you adopt lines/equipment that you are good at overseeing, and are careful to keep them healthy;
and
• safety leadership – you model and enforce essential health and safety procedures smoothly, and without drama.
Here's a bit more on global guidelines when it comes to workplace safety for a Pharmacy Assistant. In South Africa, you can contact Safety Training for more on this vital topic.
Pharmacy Assistants keep South Africa’s factories, mines, and utilities running smoothly. It’s hands-on, respected work with real responsibility for safety, uptime, and production quality. If you enjoy solving mechanical and electrical problems, thrive under pressure, and care about doing things well, a Pharmacy Assistant career can take you from apprentice to plant leader, specialist, or even business owner. Start with the trade test, keep learning, document your impact – and you’ll stay in demand for years to come.
