New Technician Council

The organisation has been established to help ensure the UK has the right engineering, scientific research and manufacturing skills to support economic growth. The Council will develop technician registration schemes by offering support, professional development and information for individual technicians, and it will promote the professional status of technicians. Chief executive of the Engineering Council Andrew Ramsay welcomed the announcement: "This initiative provides evidence that there is at last a real understanding by government and the civil service of the need to accord significant status to the UK's technicians. We also welcome the endorsement of the framework we have developed for the engineering profession for assessment of professional standards of competence." Holliday said: "I am delighted to have been asked to chair the Technician Council. I look forward to working with other key stakeholders to build a framework for a modern class of technician to ensure that this critical role in the workplace is more widely recognised and respected."