Support and Resources for Technicians

Information about some of the available support and resources for Technicians, including:

• Staff Development
• Job Families
• Personal Development
• Realising Your Potential Approach
• Professional Registration

Staff Development

The University recognises the contribution its employees make to its success. It also recognises that to maintain a committed and competent workforce, it needs to ensure that there is adequate training and development provided for all.

The Organisation Development team plays an important role in ensuring that members of the staff community are:

• properly trained in the skills they need to carry out their present jobs at a standard acceptable to the University and its customers;
• provided with the skills they need for changes in the way jobs are carried out;
• encouraged to develop their skills and talents to enable them to progress within the University and reach their full potential.

The University is committed to making the most effective use of the talents, skills and abilities of its workforce and to helping all employees maximise the contribution they can make.

Job Families

Our Job Families help to identify the significant contribution that members of staff make to the academic endeavour and the student experience within Durham University. They involve direct or indirect service provision for internal and external stakeholders.

OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are welcoming, collegiate and inclusive.

OUR VALUES: We are motivated, inquisitive, challenging, rigorous and innovative.

Durham University technical staff are categorised within the Technical, Research & Teaching Services (TRTS) family.

With a focus on Knowledge Impact: practice, dissemination, and exchange, roles in this family provide creative and analytical input to facilitate the delivery of world-class teaching, learning and research activities.

Personal Development

Personal Development Workbooks have been designed for Technicians to consider the skills and behaviours required to effectively carry out the responsibilities at each grade within the Technical, Research &Teaching Services Job Family.

The workbooks will enable individuals to identify the skills and behavioural attributes required at each grade and give opportunity, through the completion of a training needs analysis, to identify individual strengths and development needs.

There are core responsibilities that are relevant across all roles at the same grade within the four Job Families and specific responsibilities relevant to a particular Job Family. The effective demonstration of these responsibilities will support the University to meet the objectives of the overall Strategy and the People Strategy.

Technical, Research and Teaching Services – (TRTS) Personal Development Workbooks

Realising your Potential Approach

The Realising Your Potential Approach clarifies the behaviours we expect all staff from Professional Support Services within Colleges, Faculties, and Academic departments to demonstrate the “how” tasks are achieved rather than the “what” staff are required to do – mapped to our current grading system. This approach is used by all Professional Support Services within Colleges, Faculties and Academic Departments.

The Approach is embedded at recruitment, induction, Annual Development Reviews and through personal development plans.

The intended impact is to enhance the University performance through all staff from Professional Support Services demonstrating consistently professional behaviours regardless of their role, whilst also providing staff with a more transparent mechanism to identify continuing professional development opportunities.

Professional Registration

Professional Registration is awarded by professional bodies such as the Institute of Science & Technology or the Science Council and recognises your knowledge, competence, and commitment to high standards of professionalism. It differs from an academic qualification as it captures your career development and on-the-job learning alongside any formal qualifications, highlighting that you have the skills sought after by employers.

Benefits

Professional registration gives you:

• The chance to benchmark your skills against a global standard
• Recognition of your experience and better career prospects
• Transferability of your skills to other roles or organisations
• Improved job satisfaction and ongoing development