There will be a large number of Denver tech jobs available for pharmacy technicians in the coming years. Visit http://denver.jobing.com/cat/tech to check out some available positions.

Pharmacy technicians work under the direction of a licensed pharmacist to prepare prescriptions, provide customer service, and perform administrative duties. Technicians may be responsible for everything from dealing with customers and receiving prescription requests to counting tablets and labeling bottles.

Pharmacy technicians generally work in one of two settings – retail and mail-order pharmacies or hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities. Those who work in retail may receive and fill prescriptions, maintain patient profiles, and prepare insurance claim forms.

Those who work in healthcare settings have additional responsibilities, such as preparing sterile solutions, delivering medications to nurses or doctors, and recording information about prescribed medications onto a patient’s profile.

The amount of education needed to become a pharmacy technician generally depends on the employer. Most employers require candidates to have at least a high school diploma, and many prefer to hire those with some formal training, previous experience, or certification.

Those who choose to take a formal education course can usually earn their certification or degree within six months to two years. Regardless of their education level, pharmacy technicians will learn a lot of what they need to know through on-the-job training, which takes about three to 12 months.

Although most states don’t require pharmacy technicians to become certified, most require registration with the state board of pharmacy. Technicians who choose to become certified can do so through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board or the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians. Employers also may look into your criminal background (Click here).

There were about 326,300 pharmacy technicians throughout the nation during 2008, and that number is expected to grow by 31 percent by 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 75 percent of employees work in a retail setting and about 16 percent work in hospitals.

Employment of pharmacy technicians in the Denver area is expected to increase by 894 jobs – or 3.4 percent – to 3,171 workers by 2019, according to the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment.

The top industries that employed pharmacy technicians in the Denver area during 2009 include:

• Health and personal care stores
• Hospitals
• General merchandise stores
• Ambulatory healthcare stores
• Food and beverage stores
• Non-durable goods merchant wholesalers
• Rental and leasing services

The average wage for pharmacy technicians in the Denver area during 2009 was $15.47 per hour or $32,178 per year, while the average entry-level wage was $11.53 per hour or $23,981 per year, and the average experienced-level wage was $17.33 per hour or $36,056 per year.

Many Denver tech jobs could soon be created thanks to a statewide clean jobs act.

Xcel Energy recently achieved the first major milestone for Colorado’s Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act by submitting a plan to replace old and inefficient coal-fired power plants with cleaner sources – the first plan of this kind in the nation.

The Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act was signed into law earlier this year in an effort to save residents hundreds of millions of dollars through a plan specific to Colorado as opposed to a federally-imposed plan to reduce emissions.

“Today marks the first big step toward enacting the historic Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act,” Gov. Bill Ritter said. “Congratulations to Xcel Energy and all those who are working to implement this first-of-its-kind effort to meet our energy needs and create a clean-energy future.

“We are once again showing the nation how Colorado’s New Energy Economy is creating jobs, providing affordable and reliable energy, and improving our air quality for generations to come,” he continued.

Learn more with this list of tech job description.

Xcel Energy submitted its plan to the Public Utilities Commission. The plan includes several scenarios that could dramatically reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from Front Range power plants. One scenario includes re-powering 900 megawatts of coal-fired capacity, which could reduce nitrogen oxide emissions at metro-area power plants by 70 percent to 80 percent by 2018.

Other companies throughout Colorado interested in submitting plans have until September 17th to do so.

A new round of workforce training funding will help to create more San Diego tech jobs (Click here) in the biofuels industry.

The California Department of Industrial Relations recently awarded a $4 million grant to the San Diego Biofuels Initiative. The funding will be used to implement the Educating and Developing Workers for the Green Economy, or EDGE, Initiative, which will provide new workforce training programs for careers in the biofuels industry.

The San Diego Biofuels Initiative – a collaborative effort among CleanTECH San Diego, BIOCOM, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, and the San Diego Workforce Partnership – won the grant as part of the Green Innovation Challenge.

The EDGE Initiative is aimed at providing education, training, and placement services to unemployed and dislocated workers in the San Diego area. The program is one of five selected to receive a portion of the $20 million in grants from the state’s Contingency Fund and the Federal Workforce Investment Act.

“This award shows San Diego at its best,” Lisa Bicker, CEO of CleanTECH San Diego, said. “It exemplifies a successful collaboration between industry, academia and government that will result in putting San Diegans to work while solving the critical challenge of energy independence and security.”

A recent study from the San Diego County of Governments’ economic bureau found that the local algal biofuels research and development industry provides 410 direct jobs, $56 million in direct economic activity, and $108 million in total economic activity each year.

The San Diego Biofuels Initiative plans to create an Industry Advisory Board to help guide the EDGE Initiative as it develops. The industry’s partners are committed to facilitating and providing internships, on-the-job training, and employment.

The funds also will help to create and maintain several training programs leading to post-secondary, undergraduate, graduate, and advanced-level degrees, including:

• The EDGE Initiative Programs Biofuels Production Certificate
• Biomass Production Certificate
• Biofuels Lab Tech Certificate
• Biofuels Crop Management Certificate
• Advance training in Biofuels Crop Research
• Biofuels Immersion Program
• BioCollaborative Biofuels Web Portal

Electronics engineering technicians are among the most popular and in-demand Denver tech jobs available.

Electronics engineering technicians usually work under the direction of an engineering staff. They are responsible for laying out, building, testing, trouble shooting, repairing and modifying developmental and production electronic components, parts, equipment and systems.

These can include computer equipment, missile control instrumentation, electron tubes, test equipment, and machine tool numerical controls. They do so by applying principles and theories of electronics, electrical circuitry, engineering mathematics, electronic and electrical testing and physics.

The Colorado Department of Labor & Employment considers electrical and electronic engineering technicians to be an in demand occupation. Employment is expected to increase from 1,100 workers during 2008 to 1,038 workers by 2018, accounting for an average annual decline of .6 percent and the loss of 62 jobs.

During 2008, the median hourly wage for electrical and electronic engineering technicians in Denver was $27.31 per hour or $56,801 per year, while the median wage throughout Colorado was $26.47 per hour or $55,056 per year.

The top 10 industries that employed electrical and electronic engineering technicians in the Denver area during 2008 were:

1. Telecommunications at 28.2 percent
2. Professional and technical services at 21.6 percent
3. Computer and electronic product manufacturing at 12.9 percent
4. Merchant wholesalers, durable goods at 7 percent
5. Utilities at 3.7 percent
6. Administrative and support services at 3.3 percent
7. Transportation equipment manufacturing at 3.3 percent
8. Broadcasting, except Internet at 1.2 percent
9. Electrical equipment and appliances at a confidential percentage
10. Machinery manufacturing at a confidential percentage

Some related occupations include: mechanical engineers, electronic drafters, mechanical drafters, electrical engineering technicians, mechanical engineering technicians, electricians, avionics technicians, electrical and electronics repairers of commercial and industrial equipment, electrical and electronic equipment assemblers, and metal and plastic model makers.