PROVO, Utah — Career Step has launched a new pharmacy technician training program to help students quickly prepare for the national certification exams and enter the workplace.

The online health care education provider said Wednesday that the program was developed with the aim of providing a training program that enables individuals to acquire the technical knowledge for both retail and institutional settings within the booming pharmacy technician field.

Career Step reported that, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, pharmacy technician is one of the top 20 fastest-growing occupations in the nation. The bureau estimates that the field will grow by 31% between 2008 and 2018, producing almost 100,000 new pharmacy technician jobs.

"We have developed this program with the goal of providing our students the opportunity to quickly complete their training and find careers in the rapidly expanding pharmacy technician profession," Career Step chief operating officer Mark Thomas said in a statement. "With the help of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and subject matter experts, we’ve created a comprehensive pharmacy technician program that helps students gain all of the knowledge and skills they need to enter this field and begin earning a competitive income in as little as three months."

According to Career Step, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that job prospects should be especially good for pharmacy technicians who have formal training or national certification. 

"In these challenging economic times, Career Step is developing programs to help students train and get into the workforce very quickly after graduation," commented Michael Wilstead, Career Step’s chief executive officer. "The new pharmacy technician program is a great example of this, as there is rapidly increasing demand for well-trained professionals."