DO student numbers on the up
Analysis of education and training of optical students and trainees
Significant interest in new qualifications in both optometry and dispensing optics were identified in the General Optical Council’s (GOC) 2025 UK Optical Education Report.
The report also showed an increase in total student dispensing optician (DO) numbers – with 1,139 students on DO courses in 2024/25, compared to 960 in 2023-24. Meanwhile, the number of students exiting the DO course in year one had fallen – from 17.9 per cent in 2022/23 to 4.5 per cent in 2023/24.
During 2023/24, 37 qualifications were delivered across 4,930 optical students – with the majority of education and training providers having adapted to the GOC’s new education and training requirements (ETR) for entry-level qualifications. The first ETR cohorts are expected to graduate in the spring of 2027.
The regulator suggested that government decisions on funding for apprenticeships were likely to increase qualifications in dispensing optics – but that progress in developing an optometry apprenticeship had stalled.
“The significant increase in student numbers is good news for DOs as a profession and for the wider optical sector,” said ABDO CEO Alistair Bridge. “DOs are key members of the primary eyecare team, with their expertise complementing that of optometrists and enabling practices to deliver excellent patient care.
“The growth in student number is, in large part, due to the launch of the FBDO apprenticeship offered by ABDO College, Bradford College and Capital City College. ABDO was very pleased to support employers in developing the apprenticeship standard for DOs – and the funding available for DOs education and training as a result means that their future is bright,” Alistair added.
Kirsteen Newman, head of dispensing development at Specsavers, also commented that the DO apprenticeship was “playing a significant role in opening the profession to more people”.
A DO herself, Kirtseen said: “We’re proud of our colleagues on the course, with a first-year pass rate above 95 per cent for the 70 DO students that we took on last year. For this year’s intake, we have more than 200 DO students – with 141 of these on the apprenticeship route.”
Specsavers is also developing a pipeline of new dispensing talent through its Cert 3 and 4 qualifications, and its specialist clinical and contact lens technician roles.
“These are fantastic stand-alone qualifications to have in themselves – and I congratulate the many colleagues who have worked hard to gain them,” Kirsteen continued. “These qualifications also serve as foundational pathways for colleagues aspiring to become DOs. Most of our DO students commence their studies in the second year of the programme, following attainment of a Cert 4 qualification; last year, this included 96 entrants. What this is doing is helping increase the total number of people studying to become a DO.”
Kirsteen also acknowledged “the successful cross-sector effort behind the game-changing DO apprenticeship”.
“Such progress would not have been possible without collaboration, including input from professional organisations like ABDO, FODO – The Association for Eye Care Providers – and the General Optical Council. It matters because DOs are at the heart of patient care, offering expert, personalised guidance that helps people make the right choices for their eye health. Their expertise supports fewer spectacle remakes and better outcomes for patients – including children needing myopia management.
“A further positive spin-off may be on the number of people training to be contact lens opticians, with only qualified DOs able to undertake the necessary qualifications,” she added.