The Technician Commitment

The Technician Commitment, a sector-wide initiative led by the Science Council and supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Technicians Make It Happen campaign, looks to address key challenges facing technical staff.

Find out more about the Technician Commitment

The commitment includes four key areas:

• Visibility Ensure that all technicians within the organisation are identifiable and that the contribution of technicians is visible within and beyond the institution
• Recognition Support technicians to gain recognition through professional registration and external awards schemes
• Career development Enable career progression opportunities for technicians through the provision of clear, documented career pathways
• Sustainability Ensure the future sustainability of technical skills across the organisation and that technical expertise is fully utilised.

In signing the agreement, HDR UK has pledged to put new initiatives into action to safeguard vital technical skills and support the technical workforce.

The contribution of technicians

Technicians make things happen. The Technician Commitment is an important
step towards ensuring the strength of the UK’s research capability. Right now there are around 1.5 million technicians working across the four nations of the UK and it’s expected that another 70,000 a year will be needed.

The commitment aims to support and enhance their careers throughout higher education and research across all disciplines.

Stay tuned to see what initiatives we’ll be putting in place to support technicians working in health data science.