Preface: “With 50,000 technicians retiring every year and an estimated need for another 700,000 technicians by 2030, the UK is heading towards an ‘existential crisis’ in terms of a labour shortfall. What is causing this growing deficit and moreover what can be done to retain current technicians and induce young Scientists to become technicians?”  This Exculpatory statement was made be me as an introductory remark for a talk I provided for Lab Innovations, (circa 2019) in which I opined on the current recruitment and retention crisis for UK technicians in the FE, HE and industrial sectors.

In essence, as discussed in this and another talk, I provided for Lab innovations, technicians are leaving the profession in large numbers and not being replaced in the same numbers by young persons’ entering the field. Moreover, this attrition is not just due to retirement, but rather technical personnel choosing to leave voluntarily (and go into more lucrative fields). Consequently, there is a cumulative shortage, as stated in the opening paragraph, and the work force is becoming increasingly older. This could lead to key skill shortages, going forward, as the UK looks to re invigorate its knowledge based economy, adumbrated in a piece I recently provided for Lab Innovations, “5 minutes with..” on line forum.      

So how did this emerging crisis happen and what steps are being taken to mitigate its impact?

Cue the Technician Commitment….

Since the early 2000s, it is common knowledge that the prospects for technicians, especially in HE, are declining: Citations on papers have diminished, as discussed in a recent article by the Royal Society of Chemistry, “Giving Technicians the recognition they deserve”; Outside and on the job technical training is apparently less and opportunities to attend and present at outside events has likewise diminished. Anecdotally, and based on many years of experience, it is my opinion that this is due to labour shortages, such that academic technicians (in particular) have been obliged to give up skilled technical labour and focus on more miscellaneous support activities. In the case of STEM technicians for example, Scientific project work, affording opportunities and justification for training and networking, have now been removed from the remit of many HE and FE technicians. This has led to a perceived and actual “dumbing down of the role”, since I began my career in 1987: Reduced opportunities for actual lab-based project work, as a STEM tech for example, has been accompanied by concomitant increases in admin duties, culminating in a loss of skills by many technical staff; mounting levels of dissatisfaction and a perception, amongst both technicians’ themselves and their academic counterparts, that acquiring an education was futile. I talked extensively about this as part of Lab Innovations Lab on demand series.

In response to this crisis in recruitment and morale, in 2017 the Technician commitment was implemented, backed by key players, including the Science Council. The stated aim of the commitment is promulgated in four goals or pillars,  namely to provide technicians with visibility in the context of their own institutions and on a national stage, e.g., funding and/or attendance and participation at national conferences; Recognition including internal and external prizes, e.g., the Papin prize  and support with and celebration of Professional Registration, an accreditation scheme that is my own area of expertise and on which topic I have written about and presented extensively; Career Development  viaprovision of training and courses and, more ambitiously, viable career progression, particularly within academic settings; & Sustainable careers which builds on other pillars, by seeking to ensure external support, financial and technical for technicians as they progress through the ranks, in an effort to contribute to retention within the work force and thus sustain and enhance vital skills. Since inception in 2017, 120 institutes have signed concordats, signalling their willingness to endorse and supports these aims in the context of their own technical staff. Taking stock, there is now a seminal report, released by the Institute for Technical Skills and strategy,      the new home of the Technician Commitment, which summarises current progress and future aims, and is aptly entitled, “From Inception to impact: 7 years of the Technician commitment.”

I should add that many other organisations have implemented their own recognition programs, endorsing technical staff, including the Royal Society of Biology, the Institute of Science & Technology, The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics. Indeed, all the aforementioned societies are actually signatories to the commitment itself and have thus published comprehensive and unequivocal plans and landmarks, geared towards facilitating technical careers on the national stage. In the context of this piece however, it would be remiss of me not to give special mention to the Lab Innovation prizes, which recognise and celebrate a plethora of lab based industry excellence, including technical excellence, pertaining to which I myself have “Made the cut.”   

Professional Registration: How and why

My own principal input into the aegis of the Commitment, in the last seven years, has been as an Applicant Support Mentor for The Science Council. In that role, my remit has been to induct prospective registrants into the mechanics of how to apply for Professional Registration; why apply and, crucially, the benefits thereof. Concomitant with my registration activities, conducted for the Science Council, I currently hold similar roles with the National Technician Development Centre , Midlands Innovation and formerly the Institute of Science & Technology.

So why apply for Professional Registration? There are many benefits to applying for Professional Registration but principal amongst them are the following:

1. Confidence Building: Obtaining postnominals is like a “shot in the arm” when it comes to a confidence boost and it is not uncommon for organisations to report that successful individuals begin to take on extra responsibility, by virtue of this new found confidence. What is more, I personally know of at least one individual who plucked up the to apply for and achieve promotion in the wake of their CSci post nominals.
2. Validation of Skills: Professional registration and specifically completion of the competency form validates a plethora of skills that technicians utilise in the work place (see below)
3. Networking: Integral to becoming professionally registered is joining a Licenced body. These are Professional Societies, subsumed by the Science Council, who are licenced to award the particular register (see below) on behalf of the Science Council. Licenced bodies, as established STEM organisations, have their own STEM based events, e.g., Annual conferences, Committees, training courses and Professional Registration can facilitate participation and organisation in such events. By way of example, my own career, subsequent to gaining CSci in 2017, has resulted in hitherto unexpected opportunities, including executive positions with a series of organisations like the IST, NTDC, Science Council, RSB and latterly, in the context of STEM Apprentices Marshall Assessment: This provided me with opportunities to travel throughout the United Kingdom and present on different aspects of the Technician Commitment, including the Lab innovations annual show and the (former) on line “Lab on demand” forum, from Lab innovations. For my own personification,  I have written extensively on how my own registration has benefitted my outside career in Science Communication and STEM e.g., “Reflections on the last 4 years: From RSci to Papin prize Finalist”.  
4. Self-Reflection and CPD: Compiling a portfolio of evidence as a prelude to Competency form completion is a good opportunity to take stock of progress within your day job, reflecting and recording what you have achieved and what else you might want to achieve. Furthermore, this compilation is not a time limited assignment so registrants are free to muse, reflect, redact and polish their competency draughts, in rough, in their own time.
5. Outside engagement and external job applications: In my 5 years of delivering approximately 100-200 workshops to about 3000 delegates, there is one over arching question that recurs over and over again: “How will Professional Registration benefit me in my current position?” At this juncture, especially in an HE setting, unfortunately there is no ineluctable path from gaining Professional Registration to becoming promoted. This is clearly an aspiration of the commitment and “Trail blazing” institutions that have implemented viable career pathways for persons without a PhD (but who might be in possession of Professional registration), but as yet, no such institution has stipulated Professional Registration as a pre requisite for promotion. Nevertheless, whilst internal promotions, predicated on possessing or acquiring Professional registration are not sine qua non, interview prospects for external positions are often improved by possession of post nominals:

Why does Professional Registration in some instances improve my chances of getting to interview for external STEM positions?

It is not uncommon for Signatories to the Technician Commitment to stipulate “Professional Registration or a willingness to work towards it” as a desirable characteristic in a job spec. Furthermore, anecdotally, I know of at least two managers in STEM with extensive hiring experience who look upon applicants with registration post nominals, as “dynamic,” so will sit up and take note when selecting an application shortlist. In another scenario, a different manager had funnelled down applications to just two. This “two horse race” comprised one applicant with a Ph.D., but without Professional Registration, and another with Professional Registration (CSci) but without a Ph.D. Ultimately, the candidate in possession of CSci cliched the job and that, in part, was attributed to Professional Registration, which marked them out as an evident “best fit”: Specifically, the competency form is designed to probe all aspects of candidates’ performance, be that technical Proficiency (Competencies A&D), Planning and Organisation (B), Communication skills (C) and ethical practice and performance improvement (E), suggesting that the aforementioned CSci candidate, potentially, could “hit the ground running”. In contrast, academic qualifications (as opposed to a vocational award like registration) are designed to elucidate, in the main, working knowledge, skills and behaviour and not necessarily shed light on other practice attributes, clarified, for example, in Competencies C, D and E in particular. Consequently, in the absence of this “value added” information, for the candidate in possession of a Ph.D., it was not as apparent how they might perform in all aspects of working practice…

How to apply for Professional Registration     

Having put together a portfolio of skills, conducive with competency objectives, (and, in particular, sub competencies thereof), you can then copy and paste that information into relevant fields of the Science Council on line application portal or CAP (Common Application Portal).     

Many details within CAP are analogous to a standard job application form, e.g., current position and responsibilities. The CAP specific part of the application is the so-called Competency form, amounting to about 10,000 words, parsed between 5 principal competency categories, which in turn are comprised of 2-4 sub categories (sub competencies, amounting to between 300-1000 words each. This is not a trivial exercise but as already mentioned it can be compiled as a polished draught in your own time. The only proviso is that when an application on line has been started, it must be completed and submitted within about 1 month. Hence, compile the application as a preliminary polished draught and simply copy and paste before commencing submission. 

What are the Competency categories?

I have recorded many videos and written vignettes on this subject, including for the “Lab on Demand” series for Lab Innovations  (circa 2022) and more recently Archived Presentations associated with the Midlands Innovation Festival of Talent (circa 2024).                                                                       

Suffice to say therefore that competencies are designed to elucidate technical proficiency and knowledge (A+D); Planning and organisation, including practicing standards (B); Communication, mentoring and supervisory skills (C) and ethical practice with performance improvements (E). Sub competencies subsumed under the main competency headings often provide a narrative thread for a particular working practice. For example, in the case of Competency D (Professional Practice), “Scoping and planning a new project” is considered an exemplar for this competency in the context of CSci: D1 asks you to describe how you plan to instigate the project; D2 then requires you to think about resources and expected time frames; and D3 asks registrants to reflect upon actual as opposed to expected progress, how confounding issues were dealt with and how mission objectives were ultimately met.

Where do I take evidence from in order to compile my working portfolio to complete my competencies?

Competency working practices are generally derived from extant practice associated with the last 3-5 years. However, if a current practice is rooted in antecedents that go back further, it is generally considered acceptable to include that material in your competency prose, providing you can map that practice to current practice. Regarding legitimate environments to derive such practices, unpaid internships as well as salaried positions are considered admissible. Ultimately, it is about demonstrating that you practice in a Professional setting, contributing to independent and original STEM activity. Thus, an independent research project is viable material for a competency form, e.g., an M.Res. or M.Sc. by research or for example a Ph.D. A taught Masters however, is not admissible, because laboratory practice, in this context, is primarily a tool to illustrate theory, as opposed to promulgating de novo Science.

Another aspect of derivative evidence is that, within specified time frame, information, if necessary, can be taken from two jobs. Specifically, if a prior job is more conducive to, let’s say, technical competencies (cf. A and D) and your present job, other aspects of practice, then is permissible to mix and match competency examples in that way. In general, how you choose to mix and match examples in that time frame and where that information is taken from is at the discretion of the applicant.   

What are the categories of Professional Registration commensurate with experience, qualifications and job remit?  

There are three principal categories of Professional Registration, designed to accommodate lab Technicians at different stages of their career paths. I have written and recorded on this subject, including, “Which register is right for you?” so I will summarise:

The most junior register is RSciTech: This is not a novice, but rather somebody with 1-2 years’ experience.  Consequently, in their competency form, they will be expected to demonstrate safe practice in terms of pertinent operating procedures and associated health and safety, e.g., COSHH and, moreover, be able to explain Scientific theory underpinning that standard practice (Competency A) and updates thereof (Competency D). Regarding sub competency A3, they will be expected to explain howe they identify parameters constituting good quality data and thus whether accrued data is “fit for purpose.” In addition, because registration is designed to look at working practice holistically and not just technical acumen– the preserve of Competencies A and D in particular – , they will also need to explain how, for example, they might stock take and order and organise their incipient laboratories for safe and reliable practice (stocks and equipment), cf. Competency B, how they communicate with like-minded technical colleagues (specialists), but also medical reps and Engineers when dealing with stock problems and equipment problems, respectively (Competency C) and also how they go about improving their own professional practice (CPD), including ethical practice (Competency E),  cf. EDI and GDPR regulations.   

With 2-5 years’ experience, a typical RSci builds upon the remit of an RSciTech. However, an RSci competency form will be expected to evidence value added practice, such as training STEM personnel in Standard operating procedures (SOPs) and concomitant health and safety (Competency C), improvisation on standard operating procedures to overcome technical problems (Competency A), and independent research to provide better fixes for fraught operating procedures associated with competency A (cf. competency D)

The most experienced level (Register) for Professional registration is a Chartered Scientist), cf CSci. In the context of laboratory practice, this might be somebody who has risen up the ranks, become a team leader and might therefore have left the bench in person, but who manages persons working at the bench. In this context, Competency A might (for example) be synonymous with structural innovations to laboratories, Health and safety management and departmental wide innovations. As a person who manages different constituency groups, Competency C, synonymous with specialist and non-specialist mentoring, supervision and communication, could mandate managing health and safety of laboratories and incipient staff, liaising with persons who fail to comply with requisite standards of practice, talking to finance with regard to budgets, talking to estates and services regarding structural renovations, liaising with senior academics and overseeing outreach visits, for example. Competency D might involve scoping and planning for new equipment/operating procedures, with due regard to man power, budgets, health and safety and specialist training; and competency B would require explanation of how this diverse portfolio of responsibility is efficiently planned, implemented and managed.

However, not all CSci are bona fide team leaders!  If you supervise projects, entailing data evaluation, method modification and provide input into follow on procedures, as opposed to training (per se) then this is an example of management practice and, in concert with fulfilling other competency mission statements, could make you eligible for CSci.         

Is Professional Registration Inclusive? What about Apprentices and what about practitioners of STEM who were originally school leavers and worked their way up the ranks?

The ethos of Professional Registration is designed to be fully inclusive. What does that mean in practice? Well, for starters, it is not uncommon amongst the aging technical fraternity, who in academia – as opined earlier – are becoming increasingly common, to find individuals who left school with A Levels (Level #3) but moved through the ranks, culminating in an extant position that is Level #7 in terms of remit and thus conducive to the CSci register. In these situations, the lack of a formal Level #7 qualification, e.g., M.Sc. does not preclude applying for CSci. Rather, with submission of an additional Equivalence Report (complementing the standard competency script), application for CSci is permissible. Similarly, analogous reports can be submitted for RSci, in the absence of a Level #5/6 qualification, and RSciTech, in the absence of Level #3/4 qualifications.

The final group I wish to reference are modern day apprentices: IfATE Apprentice standards (cf. Duties, knowledge, skills and behaviours) map well to Competency standards, for STEM apprentices.  Accordingly, the Science Council has devised an abridged STEM Apprentice registration scheme  in which materials derived from structural interviews, linked to End Point Assessment (EPA) are taken in lieu of Competencies A, B, C and D for fully mapped Apprenticeships and B, C and D for Partiality mapped Apprenticeships.

Concluding Remarks: Where next for Professional Registration (my opinion)?

Returning to the beginning of this and the integration of Professional Registration within the wider Technician Commitment context, viable career paths for technical progression in STEM are now being pioneered by Trail Blazing Institutes. What is more, increments along these pioneering spines have been mapped to RSciTech, RSci and CSci. In the future, it would be ideal, to complete the circle, if progression through the increments could be made contingent on possessing or working towards Professional Registration, in the way that Ph.D.’s underpin progression through the academic pay scales. In that way the, the impact and utility of Professional Registration could be fully realised and that would encourage uptake.         

Social Media Blogs

1. “Benefits of Professional registration: A personal perspective” IST Blog 2017
2. “5 Minutes with Laurence Dawkins-Hall” Lab Innovations, 2024
3. “Reflections on the last 4 years: From RSci to Papin prize Finalist”  MI 2021
4. “Applicant Support Mentor Short Listed for Papin Prize” Science Council News 2021
5. “Interactive Professional Registration workshops: New year, new format..”
6. “5 Minute interview with Laurence: Technical lanscape”  Lab Innovations 2020
7. “Specialist Advisor Spotlight: Laurence Dawkins-Hall” NTDC July 2023
8. “Science Council Profile”: Science Council web pages/RSB July 2023
9. “Science Council case study (for CSci)”: IST November 2017
10. “For he’s a Jolly good fellow” NTDC piece, 2023
11.  IST Piece about my Citizens award, University of Leicester, IST Journal 2022

Training Videos

1. “21^st Century Technicians: Challenges and innovation” Lab Innovations 2019
2. “Lab Live #3 | 21st Century Technicians: Challenges, Insights & Innovation” An   Update  Lab Innovations 2021
3. “Professional Registration Information/Resource Video”  IST 2021
4. “Professional Registration Video, University of Glasgow” NTDC 2021 
5. “Interactive Professional Registration Workshops, Science Council” IST 2022
6.  “Completing your CSci Competency Form” Science Council You tube video 2021
7.  “Online application portal for Registration”: CAP Science Council video 2021
8.  “Which Register is right for you?: RSciTech, RSci or CSci?”  SC Video 2021
9.  “CPD and Reflective practice: Completing your competency report” SC  Video  2021
10.  “ASM Science Council Registration workshops 2022”  
11. “An Introduction to Registration with the Science Council”. MI TALENT May  2024
12.  “Top Tips for Completing the Science Council Professional Registration Form”:

 MI TALENT Spring Festival, May 2024

•  MP4 Recording of RSB Registration Training session, RSB October 2022
•  Professional Services, Professional Registration video, UoLeicester, 2022