Launched today, the Technician Commitment is a sector-wide initiative to help address key challenges facing technical staff working in universities.

Imperial is among over 35 universities and research institutions from across the UK to have backed the pledge to support their technicians.

The Technician Commitment identifies five target areas which universities and institutions will work to improve to safeguard vital technical skills. It will ensure greater visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability of technical skills for technicians across all disciplines. It also asks organisations to regularly assess the impact of actions taken to ensure their effectiveness.

The Commitment comes at a key time as the demand for technicians is increasing. More than 1.5 million technicians currently work in the UK, which 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.

Imperial’s Provost, Professor James Stirling, said: "I am proud that Imperial is a founder signatory to the Technician Commitment. Imperial’s technical staff play an essential role in our community across both teaching and research, and their loyalty and commitment to the College is greatly valued. This important initiative will help the College grow our existing provision to look at what more we can do to support our technicians and help them develop their careers.”

Belinda Phipps, CEO of the Science Council, said: “The Science Council has been working to increase the visibility and professional recognition of technicians and to improve their development opportunities at all career stages. We are delighted to be leading on the Technician Commitment and to be working with partners across the higher education and research sector to elevate the status and profile of technicians. By working collectively we can ensure the future prosperity of technical skills in higher education and research.”

Building on strong foundations

Imperial already has a range of dedicated support in place for technical staff - including a Technicians’ Network, support for professional registration, and access to external networking and specialist training courses through membership of HEaTED. Technical staff members are also welcome to participate in the full range of internal staff development opportunities. 

The College also runs its own Technician Apprenticeship Scheme, which is designed to train the future technicians who go on to work in Imperial’s world-class workshops and laboratories.

The College currently has activity underway in four of the five Commitment areas, and the results of the recent internal Technicians Skills Survey will help to inform future work.