Our action plan

By working with the Technicians Network and the University’s technical community these plans will be regularly reviewed and updated where necessary to meet both the organisation’s and individual’s needs and aspirations and fulfil our commitment to our professional technicians.

Timeline: 6-12 months

• Meetings have already commenced and will continue with senior members of the University of Sheffield and with the National Technician Development Centre to address the continued delivery of the pledges.
• Encourage and brief senior university executives on how the University of Sheffield needs to ensure they have a highly skilled sustainable technical workforce. As part of this strategy, one of the key vehicles being used to deliver this is through our continued engagement with the Technician Commitment Initiative.
• A proposal of support has been submitted to the University Executive Board (UEB) to establish a formal group to take the Technician Commitment forward in years 2 and 3.
• Funding has been requested to deliver required events, workshops and an annual one-day event to celebrate the technical community. A request has been made for continued support for professional registration and related membership of professional bodies.
• Senior management will brief UEB regularly regarding progress in delivering our commitment to this initiative.
• The University of Sheffield has worked with technical staff and the Institute of Science and Technology to develop an Induction pack for new starters to ensure they have access to key information regarding the Technician Commitment, career pathways, professional registration and other related initiatives and programmes. This pack is to be implemented in the 2018/2019 academic year.
• Actively increase the awareness and benefits of professional registration by continuing to work in partnership with the Institute of Science and Technology in jointly promoting professional registration and continuing professional development (CPD) (workshops, seminars and TechNet events).
• Identification of key individuals and structures to further develop and take forward the initiatives and processes to further develop the delivery of the Technician Commitment pledges.
• Continue to improve visibility for technical staff, for example showcasing of individual staff and roles and by increasing membership of technicians on appropriate committees.
• Further develop CPD opportunities, including conference attendance, networking events, secondment/placement programmes, and up-skilling and training in new skills.

Timeline: 12-24 months

• Ensuring the first 12 months developments are embedded into standard practice and procedures in respect to the technical community.
• The University of Sheffield is committed to ensuring that technical staff has representation on senior organisational committees (where appropriate), allowing technicians to contribute to strategic developments in teaching and research.
• Technician awards ceremony, to be held to reflect on the work of technicians, including professional registration and apprenticeship completion certificates.
• Actively encourage and promote the work of female technicians to allow young women to see the benefits of becoming a professional technician.
• Continue to actively recruit young 16-20 year-olds through the use of the Apprenticeship Levy and the UoS Apprentice Scheme.
• Further highlight career opportunities through secondment and job shadowing schemes.
• Membership of a professional body and professional accreditation to become 'Essential' on future 'About the Job' requirements for all key technical appointments.
• Technical workforce planning to be part of the annual planning round.