The University of Liverpool is part of a new £5.5m national Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy (ITSS) launched earlier this month.
It will ensure the UK has the technical capability and capacity across academia, research, education, and innovation to enable the UK to be a global superpower in science, engineering, and the creative industries.
The UK ITSS is funded by Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation. It is being hosted by the University of Nottingham in partnership with a network of organisations and institutions across UK higher education and research, including the University of Liverpool.
The new institute was one of the key recommendations outlined in the national TALENT Commission report, published in February 2022 by the MI TALENT programme.
The flagship report includes strategic insights into the technical community, highlighting the critical role this workforce plays in academia, research and innovation.
It includes targeted recommendations on how to strengthen the future technical workforce to support the economy and fulfil the government's ambitions for the UK to become an innovation nation.
This follows the University of Liverpool's recently launched Research Technical Professional Career Pathway, a comprehensive promotion pathway for specialist technical and research support staff.
The Pathway has been developed to meet three aims: recruitment, retention and recognition. It supports the Technician Commitment action plan for the University and some of the key recommendations from the TALENT Commission report.
Professor Ian Prior, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Technology, Infrastructure and Environment) at the University's Faculty of Health and Life Sciences said:
"The launch of the ITSS is fantastic news for the whole sector, and it will help change and progress the field. In Liverpool we've introduced a new career pathway which aligns with the aims of the Institute, and will be relevant to the wide diversity of specialist technical and research staff out there.
"We're looking to improve career pathways for our specialists across all disciplines and facilities, from museums and arts to STEM. We've been contacted by colleagues at lots of other institutions who are keen to adopt and adapt this model, and we at the University of Liverpool are happy to support and advise."
