Technicians

It’s not often that the worlds of Marvel films and museums collide, but a landmark project instigated by Gatsby made this unique collaboration happen.

Marvel Studios gave permission for a reconstruction of the laboratory of the character Shuri from Black Panther. This is one of the draws of Technicians: The David Sainsbury Gallery – a permanent gallery at London’s Science Museum. It opened in 2022 and was funded by Gatsby, working alongside partners including the NHS, the National Grid, and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. The Gallery brings to life a wide variety of workplaces, from a blockbuster film set to a pharmaceutical lab, raising the profile of technical jobs.

Since 2010, Gatsby has focused on supporting the development and upskilling of the technician workforce, with two main motivations. Firstly, by focussing on the shortage of technicians in the workforce, the country’s productivity and growth is supercharged. 

Secondly, technical education and technical careers open a world of opportunities for people – some of whom may have been previously poorly served by this country’s education system.Gatsby’s focused efforts to platform the role of technicians are paying off; in 2012, an Ipsos Mori poll found that three quarters of young people said they were “not very likely” or “not at all likely” to pursue a technician career. Fast forward to 2021 and polling by Opinium found 64% felt suited to a technical vocation, reflecting a huge increase in awareness.The array of interventions and activities either supported or directly implemented by Gatsby to raise the profile of technicians has been extensive. Sustained societal shifts in awareness require patience – but there have been many highlights along the way. One example is the Technician Commitment project, which leveraged millions of pounds of funding to support technicians in universities and research institutes, and led to the establishment of the UK Institute of Technical Skills and Strategy.

Technicians themselves have always been the driving force behind Gatsby’s efforts. In 2023, the Royal Society awarded the 100-plus technicians involved in the Technicians Gallery the Royal Society Hauksbee Award for outstanding achievements in science to an individual or team whose work is mostly “behind the scenes”.

With over a million visitors since its opening in November 2022, the Technicians Gallery has had considerable impact in raising the profile of the technician workforce – one part of a sea-change in young people’s engagement with these important careers.