Looking back, the year seems to have flown by as ever, and a surprising amount has happened! Here are a few things:<\/p>\n One of my objectives in my first year has been to set up safety inspections<\/a>, and we now have regular and focussed inspections involving representatives from different job roles. It may not sound exciting to you, but it\u2019s very satisfying to me knowing that we now have a system in place to keep everything in check!<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to have found time this year to complete my ILM Certificate in Leadership and Management, which has really helped as I\u2019ve settled into the new role by giving me greater confidence as a manager. It\u2019s great that the University has recently announced the 3Ls programme<\/a> and I\u2019d encourage anyone in a management role to consider this opportunity.<\/p>\n Throughout the past year or so, there has been work taking place between technicians, technical managers and HR staff looking at some of the big issues affecting technical staff. Work on this is ongoing (see below), but one of the initial outcomes of this was that we organised a \u2018Technical Staff Development Week<\/a>\u2019 in July. This was a great week of training and networking opportunities for technicians along with inspiring talks by academics around the University. One of the main themes fed back following the week was how much staff enjoyed discovering what else is going on around the University, and meeting those in similar roles to them. My hope is that in the coming months and years we can build on this and hold future events and shared development activities for technicians across campus.<\/p>\n I\u2019m delighted that the University has recently signed up to the Technician Commitment<\/a>, and pleased to have been appointed institutional lead for this initiative. The Technician Commitment is a nationwide initiative aiming to maintain the quality of technical staff needed across all disciplines in higher education and research by focussing on four areas: visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability. This will be an exciting opportunity to shape the path the University takes in addressing some of the key challenges facing the technical workforce.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also looking to submit an application for fellowship of the HEA through the Bath Scheme<\/a> in the coming year. So many technical staff (and other professional services staff) make a huge and valuable contribution to teaching and supporting learning across the University and I hope to be able to encourage more technical staff to gain recognition of their contribution.<\/p>\n ---<\/p>\n Finally I\u2019ll finish with another picture. I\u2019m proud to be part of a talented team of technical staff \u2013 this is a recent photo of those working in Mechanical Engineering*. I\u2019m the one directly in front of Julian, for those that don\u2019t know me!<\/p>\n![\"Broad](\"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/fedstaff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2018\/11\/DSCF4433.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHighlights from the past year<\/h2>\n
Looking ahead<\/h2>\n