Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Types of Courses   |   Suitability   |   Application Process   |   Studying   |   Finances   |   Finding a Job   |   About GetReskilled

Types of Courses

We offer a range of programs and courses to help people with their careers in the pharmaceutical and medical device (MedTech) industries – either to get their first job, or to move up the career ladder.

All our courses are delivered online (with 24-hour a day access) allowing students to study at a time and place that suits them.

This page will not discuss Springboard courses. If you’re looking for information about those, please check out this page of Springboard FAQs instead.

Three of our programs, Certificate in BioPharmaChem, Certificate in Validation, and our BSc Degree in the Manufacture of Medicinal Products are university accredited by Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). We’ll refer to these throughout as our university accredited programs. These two Certificates can be combined over time into a BSc degree in the Manufacture of Medicinal Products.

We also have stand-alone modules that are certified by GetReskilled.

No, we only deliver online courses.

We start courses regularly throughout the year. If we are oversubscribed, we can add in extra courses as needed.

If you are in urgent need of training and wish to start a course sooner than the next scheduled start date, contact geraldine.creaner@getreskilled.com to discuss options.

The BSc degree courses starts once every year, in September.

TU Dublin is Ireland’s first Technological University, bringing together a group of well-established academic institutions under the one banner. It is ranked in the current Times Higher Education (THE) University Rankings in the top 4% of universities in the world.

Our BSc degree is made up of 12 modules. The first 3 modules are the Certificate in BioPharmaChem programme. The Certificate in Validation programme is the second 3 modules.
At the end of these 2 programs, you will have completed 6 of the 12 modules and be halfway through your BSc degree.

If you want to continue on you can apply to take the remaining 6 modules of your degree. Allowing you get a BSc in the Manufacture of Medicinal Products, completely online.

See this post for more about how the courses build into a degree.

You can study the Certificate in BioPharmaChem and the Certificate in Validation individually – you don’t have to commit to the full degree. You don’t have to decide about applying to the degree program until you’ve finished these two.

No, I’m afraid not.

Suitability for Courses

Since our courses are delivered online, they are open to candidates worldwide.

The majority of people are in their 30’s or 40’s, some are in their 20’s or 50’s.

Yes, we have had lots of people who take this course having not studied for years and they successfully find a job in pharma.
You should check each course page for any specific requirements, however as a baseline we expect people to have a few years of work experience under their belt in any field before applying to us.

Many of our trainees do not have a college or university level education. They come to us with high school education (e.g. diploma, leaving certificate, A or O levels) along with a number of years of work experience, looking to make a mid-career change into a pharma or medical device manufacturing company.

These are conversion courses to help people leverage off their work experience and qualifications to move into a career in pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing. They are not for fresh graduates.

We’ve had people from manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, construction, project management, architecture & design, food production, aircraft maintenance, quality, science, IT, the defence forces & military, and many other roles take these courses and successfully make the transition to a new role in pharma.

We’ve also helped many people transition back into working after career breaks or time as homemakers.

People who are not comfortable using a computer or do not have a reliable internet connection.

People who do not have a working knowledge of English. All notes and videos are delivered in English and the assignments have to be written in English.

People who can’t (or are unwilling to) devote 10 to 15 hours per week for study through the duration of the course.

People who are looking for a shortcut to an internationally recognised academically accredited qualification, this is not for you.

The Application Process

Either click on the apply button on the relevant course page or contact the relevant member of staff below.

If you’re from Ireland:
Email: sinead.creaner@getreskilled.com
Call Sinead: +353 (0)21 2409013

If you’re from anywhere other than Ireland:
Email: geraldine.creaner@getreskilled.com
Call Geraldine: +1 (617) 901 9268

We will follow up with you by phone. You’ll have a chance to ask any questions or discuss your course and payment options. After this, you’ll need to return the registration documents by email (details of this will be outlined during the phone call). Once accepted on the course, initial payment will be taken and your course can begin.

Studying GetReskilled Courses

No – there are no specific times that you need to be online to take this course. The online classroom is open 24-hours a day, you do not have to login at any particular time.

The day the course starts you are given a username and password and this allows you 24-hour a day access to your course.

Each week is one “session” of online content.
Each session typically includes 6-10 topics.

Each topic includes:

  • A video – these are typically 5-10 minutes long and deliver 80% of the course content
  • A set of course notes which can be downloaded and saved – these provide additional depth to the video content
  • Self-assessment questions – these are based on the type of technical questions you could be asked at a job interview

Some modules also provide the opportunity for a live Q&A tutorial with your lecturers. But always remember your course coordinator is on hand to help with any problems you might experience.

The notes are delivered as pdf documents and the questions are sent as ‘word’ documents, so you can save them on your computer. The video is the only part that you cannot save.

At the end of each module there is a written assignment that is emailed to you.

Like anything else, the more you put in to an online course, the more you’ll get out of it. The amount of time spent studying also depends on you and how quickly you grasp things (including whether you need to go over things more than once). Most students report studying 10-16 hours per week.

Very flexible!

Because we deliver our courses online we can offer extreme flexibility and can easily slow down, speed up or pause the course delivery.

Communication is a key part of your course. You will need to let your course coordinator know if you will be traveling or taking holidays and are not able to study – your course can be adjusted to accommodate these things if your course coordinator knows in advance.

The standard pace is to have a new session of content released each week. But this will not be done if you haven’t finished enough of the work from the week before. We use a progress bar to track your progress (which you can also see and use to measure how you are progressing) – you will need to complete 85% or more of your current course materials in order for new materials to be released.

We recommend that you create your own study timetable to work around any other commitments you may have.

The two biggest challenges people face with online courses are staying motivated and a feeling of isolation. We’ve developed a clear and structured support system to minimise these issues and give you the best chance of success.

Please read on to the following question for more information…

You will have your own designated course coordinator who will check your activity logs every week and follow up with you to make sure you get to the end of the course. If it looks like you’re falling behind, they’ll reach out to discuss your challenges and help you put a plan in place to get back on track.

We believe that it is this system of checks and communication that leads to us having a 92% course completion rate.

Yes, you will have access to the course or programme you have studied for at least 3 months after you have finished the course.

We only release one week’s worth of course material at a time and then check your progress bar weekly to make sure that you’re managing to keep up with your work. This helps us to spot any potential issues early. The progress bar on your course is also available to you to see how you are doing.

If you are taking our academically accredited Certification in eBioPharmaChem, Certificate in eValidation or our Degree program, upon completion of the academic program, your work will be submitted to an exam board at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). Once the exam board has reviewed and approved the submission, you will be awarded your certificate.

Exam boards are held at various times throughout the year and your assignments will be submitted for the first available exam board after all your end of module assignments are completed. If you need written proof of your studies before your certificate has been issued, speak to your course advisor.

For GetReskilled certified programs, you will receive your certificate as soon as your assignments have been marked.

Finances

No – the fees listed for each course are the total that are required. There are no hidden registration, exam, or certification fees.
First of all, we will do our best to help you achieve your educational goals but if you are not satisfied, we offer a 7-day money back guarantee (from the course start date).
Yes – we have a lot of candidates whose employers pay course fees on their behalf.
No, unfortunately, we don’t have any financial aid programs.
No – we have a variety of payment plans.

For all our courses, we offer monthly payment plans. Please contact geraldine.creaner@getreskilled.com for details, or discuss the options on your application follow-up call.

Finding a Job

Your individual job prospects will vary depending on your work experience to date, your education, where you live, and how far you’re willing to commute.

Talk to your advisor on your application follow-up call for more details, or check out these pages for Ireland, the UK, and Pennsylvania, USA.

We don’t find jobs for people, but we make sure that you’re confidently job-ready. We also offer an Advanced Career Coaching module that takes you through finding a job, step by step. This module is tailored to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries and is designed to help you get a job.

The Advanced Career Coaching module is included with some courses, and can be added on to the others. Your application follow-up call is the ideal place to discuss this.

Our previous graduates have gone on to work for a huge range of pharmaceutical and medical device companies including Pfizer, Boston Scientific, Roche, Regeneron, Novartis, Eli-Lilly, MSD, Abbott, Amgen, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi Aventis, and many more!
The types of role you’ll be able to apply for will be influenced by your qualifications, previous work experience and the course you take. Please see each course page for an idea of the roles the course will prepare you for.

Part of the purpose of the application follow-up call is to determine that you’ve selected the most appropriate course for you so don’t worry if you’re not 100% clear about this before applying.

It depends on the company, the country, and the role you are employed in.

Click here to see our Pharmaceutical Job Description and Salary Guide.

We recommend spending 5 to 10 hours per week on the job hunting process (in addition to your course study time). This process is covered extensively in the Advanced Career Coaching module that’s included with some programs, and can be added to others.

About GetReskilled

GetReskilled is a private training provider that delivers vocational education for the pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing industry. It focuses on the development of a mature workforce and over the last 13 years, has trained over 4,000 people.

Whether you are over 30 and looking for a career change, or you’ve been laid off from your job we ​do not believe that you should settle for just any career. We aim to challenge the idea that you’re too old or it’s too difficult and expensive to change careers.

The goals we have are: to build local talent pools of operator and quality technician to support the expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing industry; to use online vocational education to teach about the quality systems necessary to consistently manufacture safe and effective medicines for patients; and to provide the career coaching tools necessary to build a successful career in a new industry.

These programs and courses build talent and change lives.

We have offices located in Boston (USA), Cork (Ireland), London (UK), and other locations around the world.

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