UofG Technicians

The Scottish Funding Council recently announced that the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, which has been utilized over the past three academic years to support upskilling courses for technical staff, will not be available for at least the next two academic years. However, in line with the university's dedication to the development of its technical staff, we have taken the initiative to privately finance CPD (Continuing Professional Development) courses for technical staff this year.

The technician commitment steering group is delighted to provide details of the CPD courses it has arranged. Should you wish to apply for a place on any of these courses, it is recommended that you submit your application as soon as possible. Please be aware that there is a separate application link for each course and these have been communicated via email to all technical staff. Technicians from all grade families and contract types are welcome to apply for a place on one or more of these courses. However, submission of the application form does not guarantee a place. Confirmation of your place will be sent via email once applications have been received. Each course has a capacity of 15 places, and technicians are encouraged to apply for any course(s) that will contribute to their development.

Basic Supervisory Skills, 14^th May 2024, 9.30am to 12.30pm

Course outline: This course would be delivered as a three hour interactive workshop using the 70 – 20 – 10 model of learning with the focus being on sharing experiential learning. This course is designed to enable you to become effective quickly and enables you to understand how your role fits into the organisation and the importance of communicating with, leading and motivating your team.

Subjects covered include:

• How to be an effective Supervisor
• Communication skills including listening skills and questioning techniques
• How to motivate your team and delegate successfully

Time management and prioritisation, 28^th May 2024, 1.30pm to 4.30pm

This course will cover the following areas:

• Setting goals to manage your time and get things done
• How to plan efficiently
• Online time management tools
• Do you multi-task?

Managing communication, 5^th June 2024, 9.30am to 12.30pm

This course will cover the following areas:

• Communicating clear direction and instruction
• Impact of verbal/non-verbal communication
• Adapting your communication to suit the situation

Managing change, 13^th June 2024, 9.30am to 4.30pm

This course will cover the following areas:

• Analysing the competition
• Creating and communicating winning change strategies
• Organisational readiness, stretch and fit
• Complex change and adaptive systems
• How to get buy-in for organisational change

Train the trainer, 19th June 2024, 9.30am to 4.30pm

This course will cover the following areas:

• Create a safe and supportive environment for learners
• Determine learning needs by carrying out comprehensive training needs analysis exercises
• Write meaningful learning outcomes that accurately reflect the knowledge and skills learners can expect to attain
• Design effective and engaging training sessions that consider a range of learning preferences, learning styles, development methods and accelerated learning techniques
• Create engaging and memorable supporting visuals and written materials that enhance the learning experience
• Confidently deliver training sessions and facilitate associated discussions
• Apply evaluation techniques to ensure that training methods are meeting the desired learning outcomes 

If anyone has any queries, please contact tec-commitment@glasgow.ac.uk.

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First published: 15 April 2024