The UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy (UK ITSS) was established in August 2023, underpinned by a grant of £5.5m from Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The Three-Year Impact Report details achievements and progress to date, including:
- Influencing national education and skills policy; providing key evidence to the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s (HESA) staff data collection survey to re-introduce mandatory data collection for non-academic staff and highlighted a projected 120,000 technical skills gap in IS8 frontier industries.
- Upskilling the technical workforce at more UK universities and research institutes, delivered over 3,000 learning and development opportunities across 120 organisations and designed bespoke programmes that directly impacted 400 technical professionals.
- Empowering the technical community through development opportunities; facilitated nearly 200 knowledge exchange placements and launched a Showcase featuring 300 technician-led facilities to drive research collaboration and equipment sharing.
- Expanding the Technician Commitment: Championed positive workplace changes, growing the globally recognised Technician Commitment initiative to 150 participating organisations.
- Global Leadership: Positioned the UK as an international best practice for technical excellence, with institute practices recognised across Europe, Australia, and the Americas, amplified by a collaborative project with Universitas 21.