The TDM Toolkit was developed as part of the Technical Development and Modernisation project – a three year research project which ran between 2014 – 2017 at the University of Sheffield. The project, funded by HEFCE, aimed to produce some solutions to the issues affecting the technical workforce and service within the HE sector.
The project worked with 18 HEIs to identify the major challenges facing HE technical staff and services, including:
- Lack of consistent career pathways
- Ineffective workforce planning due to limited understanding of the technical workforce
- Lack of effective recruitment and development to support succession planning
- Lack of effective Continuing Professional Development recording
- Poor signposting of development opportunities for technicians
In response to these issues, the project created the TDM Toolkit, consisting of:
- HE Technical Career Pathways tools enable institutions to align to a nationally recognised structure and provides individuals with the facility to plan a technical career
- Technician Skills, Roles and Responsibilities Audit enables institutions to capture information about their technical workforce to support a strategic approach to workforce planning
- Technician Development Framework provides a how-to guide on strategic development and delivery of apprenticeships, traineeships and internships in HE
- CPD Central supports continuing professional development. A bespoke CPD portal to provide a platform for the easy recording of professional development.
- Career Development Opportunities package signposts potential career development opportunities, provides guidance for institutions to develop or improve existing staff development schemes and provides individuals with an understanding of the opportunities available
The NTDC team use the TDM Toolkit and their expert knowledge to deliver a bespoke service to meet your needs.