Technicians are the linchpins of the UK economy and they will be integral to overcoming some of the great challenges of the coming years and decades. A new campaign called ‘Technicians Make It Happen’ which aims to raise awareness of the role of technicians and technical careers, has been launched by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
Currently, over 1.5 million technicians are employed in the UK and they work within engineering, science, health and technology. However, an aging workforce means that 50,000 of our best technicians are retiring every year, and forecasts show we will need as many as 700,000 more technicians in the next decade to meet demand from employers.
The rationale behind the ‘Technicians Make it Happen’ campaign is recognising that technicians are the people that make things happen – from engineers and scientists to architects and film directors, and therefore that they are vital to the UK economy. The campaign aims to promote technical careers and encourage a new wave of technicians by inspiring young people and getting their parents and teachers to consider the benefits of a career as a technician.
Gatsby believe that by highlighting the contribution technicians make to the UK economy, technical careers will be more highly valued and better understood by society as a whole.
Terry Croft, MBE FIScT – CEO/Chair of the IST sums up the views of the Institute.
Why technicians are important:
Today’s technicians are a vital part of any business or industry. The majority of sectors would come to a standstill if it wasn’t for the wide variety of skills and expertise of our professional technicians; it is therefore essential that we attract today the technicians of tomorrow. As the IST is the professional body for technicians, we are delighted to be fully supporting the technical community and this campaign promoting technicians that really do make it happen!
Why the IST is important to the technical community:
The IST is a key professional body at the heart of major issues affecting the professional technician. Being run by technicians, for technicians, we understand the aspirations and concerns of our members. We are in a prime position to support individuals with their professional development and the technical community as a whole. We reach out to provide focused, professional support to a wide group of specialist, technical, and managerial colleagues in a broad range of environments.
On the Gatsby campaign website you can read the increasing number of technician case studies as well as get useful information on technical careers aimed at students, parents and teachers, for example by comparing careers using the campaign’s ‘careerometer’. You can also support the campaign on social media by following @technicians_mih on Twitter and using the #techniciansmakeithappen hashtag, and by joining thunderclap, a mass simultaneous social media post to promote the campaign on the 15th of August.
Visit the website for more informamtion