College of Science & Engineering

The Technician Commitment

By Ali Salik (Technician Commitment Coordinator) 

The Technician Commitment is a university and research institution initiative led by a steering group of sector bodies, with support from the Science Council and the Gatsby Foundation.

The Commitment includes four key areas:

1. Visibility - ensuring that all technicians within the organisation are identifiable and that the contribution of technicians is visible within and beyond the institution.
2. Recognition - supporting technicians to gain recognition through professional registration and internal/external awards schemes.
3. Career development - enabling career progression opportunities for technicians through the provision of clear, documented career pathways.
4. Sustainability - ensuring the future sustainability of technical skills across the organisation and that technical expertise is fully utilised.

The University of Glasgow is one of the proud founding signatories who have pledged to take action to remove the barriers and face the challenges affecting technical staff. The Commitment has grown significantly and now has over 100 signatories.

The University signed up to the Technician Commitment in 2018 and issued its Stage-1 Action Plan in 2019. After the completion of the 24-month Stage-1 period, the UofG entered the 36-month Stage-2 phase in 2021 which is due to conclude at the end of 2023. Some of the key actions and activities so far are summarised in the table below:

Creation of a UofG Technician Champions Network	Technician Commitment Launch Event 2019
AFRET and PgCAP opportunities for technicians	Research Integrity Training workshops for technicians
Introduction of the James Watt Technician Prize	Nomination of technicians for external awards such as the Papin Prizes.
Q&A sessions for technical staff	Technician visibility campaigns such as #MeetATechnician initiative
Dedicated workshops on Professional Registration for technicians	Partnership with the National Technician Development Centre (NTDC)
Climate Change and Sustainability Conference 2021	Bespoke CPD courses on soft skills for technical staff offered annually
Chartered Management Institute (CMI) approved Management and Leadership courses for technical staff offered annually	UofG Technical Conference 2022
NTDC Technician Skills Survey 2022	Job Shadowing Scheme Pilot 2023
Technical Skills Demonstration Scheme Pilot 2023	Central Scotland Technical Conference 2023

 

The UofG is committed to ensuring full implementation of its ambitious action plan which has the technician's voice present at its core. The UofG believes the commitment is for technicians by technicians and is taking further steps to empower technicians and ensure as many actions/activities as possible are led and delivered by technicians themselves. A self-assessment is due to be carried out at the end of 2023 to measure the impact of the Technician Commitment on the technical community and technical roles so far. 

The University of Glasgow employs approximately 1100 technicians out of which around 200 are based in the College of Science and Engineering. The College introduced the Technical Hub model in 2019, after consultation and engagement with technical managers and staff, enabling coordinated leadership for Technical Services and creating a platform for a unified approach to common tasks and across School activity. This Hub model provides greater visibility of Technical Services across the College, more opportunities for personal development, and recognition of excellence in each school through promoting and sharing best practice. The Technician Commitment themes of visibility, recognition, sustainability, and career development are central to this Hub approach.

The College Management Group (CMG) is fully behind the Technician Commitment and is closely monitoring the impact of the Commitment on its technical colleagues and roles.

 

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First published: 24 May 2023