SKILLS
Project aims to help develop technical talent
A new project which could become the blueprint for the career development of 30,000 technicians working in higher education across the UK is underway. The innovative programme is
being delivered by Midlands Innovation, a partnership of eight universities, including Chamber strategic partners Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham, and patron the University of Leicester. It is being backed by national
bodies and key industry leaders. The £5m TALENT programme is a
four-year programme which will be centred on the development of the technical community, piloting initiatives within the Midlands Innovation partnership before sharing learnings across the whole sector. The programme will deliver three
strands. A policy-based commission approach will focus on investigating and providing a set of national recommendations on Technical Talent for the Future.
A ‘Technicians as Partners’ pilot
will develop innovative ways to deliver culture change within higher education to strengthen technical career opportunities. And a technical training
programme which will include funding for groups of technicians across the MI partnership to access staff development and training to address specific skills gaps. The four-year project is being led
by Kelly Vere, Director of Technical Skills and Strategy at The University of Nottingham. She said: “TALENT is an excellent
example of how universities can collaborate to innovate in their operation. We will be sharing information on the nature of our technical workforces, collaborating to create new development opportunities for our technical staff and trialling interventions to address topics such as research culture, EDI and representation of technicians.” The technical community in
higher education has traditionally
Amanda Solloway MP, Minister for Science (front centre) with Kelly Vere and colleagues from across the eight Midlands Innovation university partners at the launch of the TALENT scheme
experienced a lack of visibility and recognition in the wider sector, but never has the role of technicians been more thrust into the national spotlight than now during the coronavirus crisis. Many technicians have been
playing an integral role in the national Covid-19 efforts, including organising PPE donations, creating thousands of gallons of hand sanitiser, supporting universities to transition academic teaching online, and ensuring crucial services and
academic research can continue. The TALENT programme is underpinned by a grant of more than £3m from the Research England Development Fund. The remainder of the funding is
being provided by the Midlands Innovation consortium university members as well as key partners including the Science Council, Technician Commitment, Wellcome Trust, British Geological Survey, Rolls-Royce plc, Unilever and Midlands Engine.
DCG plans to adapt T-Level workspaces
Derby College Group (DCG) is forging ahead with adapting workspaces for the first students who will join its new T Level programmes this September. Various facilities are being
upgraded in line with the T Level focus on work experience under the college’s £1.2m capital programme, which has been part-funded by the Skills Funding Agency. DCG is part of the first wave of T
Level programmes focusing on Professional Construction, Digital
Production and Education and Childcare. Recruitment for the three programmes is continuing during lockdown with capacity for around 100 students to start the new qualifications this Autumn. New facilities being created
include a virtual reality laboratory, new digital laboratories, and enhanced facilities for professional construction students. Under the Government’s working
directives, the DCG Estates team will progress the projects with
selected contractors to ensure appropriate social distancing throughout the programme of works. DCG Vice Principal Kate Martin,
who is leading on the College’s T Level introduction programme, said: “We are well on course for the introduction of Professional Construction, Digital Production and Education and Childcare programmes in September 2020. “As well as working with employers to secure work
experience in their premises which is such an important aspect of these new qualifications, we are updating industry-specific resources here at college to maximise the practical and theoretical aspects of the programme. “Although lockdown has
presented our estates team with some challenges in progressing the work, we are confident that these will be ready for the first T Level learners in September.”
business network June/July 2020 59
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