University among founding signatories to Technician Commitment

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

The University of Reading is among 35 universities and research institutions from across the UK have backed a pledge to support their technicians.

The Technician Commitment is a sector-wide initiative led by the Science Council, supported by the Gatsby Foundation to help address key challenges facing technical staff. 

The commitment was launched today at the Higher Education Technicians Summit in Warwick.  Developed to address the key issues affecting the technical community in academia and research, it covers the following areas:

1. Visibility – Ensure that all technicians within the organisation are identifiable and that the contribution of technicians is visible within and beyond the institution
2. Recognition – Support technicians to gain recognition through professional registration
3. Career Development – Enable career progression opportunities for technicians through the provision of clear, documented career pathways
4. Sustainability – Ensure the future sustainability of technical skills across the organisation and that technical expertise is fully utilised
5. Evaluating Impact – Regularly assess the impact of actions taken in support of the commitment to ensure their effectiveness

More than 1.5 million technicians currently work in the UK, and the number is expected to rise by around 70,000 each year. Vice Chancellors and Directors of Research Institutes from leading institutions across the UK have recognised the need to ensure sustainability by safeguarding technical skills across their organisations by utilising and developing expertise. 

In addition to the Technician Commitment, a Twitter campaign was launched at the Summit to increase the visibility of UK technicians. #ActualLivingTechnician invites technical staff to share their work on social media through pictures and stories. 

The other founding signatories to the Technician Commitment are Aston University, University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, Canterbury Christ Church University, Cardiff University, University of Central Lancashire, Cranfield University, University of Essex, University of Exeter, University of Hertfordshire, Imperial College London, Institute of Cancer Research, James Hutton Institute, John Innes Centre, Keele University, King’s College London, Lancaster University, University of Leicester, London South Bank University, Loughborough University, Newcastle University, University of Nottingham, University of Manchester, Open University, University of Oxford, Plymouth University, University of Sheffield, University of Strathclyde, University of Surrey, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Warwick, University College London, University of the West of England and the University of York.