CONCEPT OF TECHNICIAN AND HIS EDUCATION
 

3.1. Definition

3.1 1. In the technical manpower spectrum, while 'professional engineers and craftsman are easily recognisable, it is more difficult to recognise technicians as a class by themselves, although they occupy a large part of the spectrum. This is so because of the difficulty in drawing clear-cut lines separating certain highly skilled craftsmen and process, workers from technicians and the difficulty in distinguishing the well-qualified technicians from some technologists with a similar level of responsibility. As a result, technicians as a class can be identified only by removing professional engineers and craftsmen from the spectrum. There is however, no doubt that the duties and functions performed by technicians are recognisable.

3.12. The I.L.O. defines a "technician" as a worker who prepares working plans and other technical drawings from suggested sketches or notes for engineering, manufacturing or other purposes; performs technical tasks usually under the direction and supervision of professionally qualified specialists in engineering.

3.13. At the 12th session of the General Conference of the UNESCO held in 1962 the member States adopted the following definition:

"The term, "technician" applies to persons working in occupations requiring a knowledge of technology and related sciences between that of a skilled worker and that of an engineer or technologist; occupations at technicians level may call for inspection and maintenance, detailed development plans, supervision of production work, detail construction. Collaboration with the engineer is an essential part of the work of the technician".

3.14. The Huddersfield Conference on the Education and Training of Technicians held in 1966 identified technicians as being those people employed in the broad spectrum of occupations lying between the craftsmen on the one hand and the professional (or technologist) on the other.

3.15. It may, however, be stated that a technician working in fields such as sales, servicing, routine, maintenance, estimating etc., may need very little guidance or advice from a professional. In such cases he will mostly be working independently except for a nominal professional supervision as a matter of administrative hierarchy. In some situations the technician may be called upon to supervise the work of craftsmen, operators or Junior technicians.

So far, as the supervision of craftsmen is concerned there is a tendency in industry to leave such supervision to persons promoted from the ranks of skilled craftsmen if the work does not require complex technical knowledge. It has, however, been generally accepted that a technician's job is not an extension of that of a craftsman or an operator. Technicians and professionals are complementary to each other.

3.2. Functions

3.21. The occupation of a technician may broadly involve one or more of the following functions:

(i) Erecting and commissioning of engineering structures, equipment, etc.

(ii) Engineering drawing and detailing;

(ii) Maintenance and repair of engineering plant and machinery;

(iv) Assisting engineering in design and development;

(v) Assisting engineers and scientists in research and development activity;

(vi) Inspection testing;

(vii) Estimating;

(viii)Sales and after-Sales Service.

(ix) Servicing;

(x) Contracting;

(xi) Production and Control;

(xii) Work Study.

3.22. The above functions are related to the engineering industries. While the use of the term technician in business, commerce and other fields is relatively new, there are clearly several occupations which are comparable to those of technicians in the engi- neering fields. Such occupations include personal secretaries, accountants, auditors, data processing personnel and certain other junior executives.

3.3. Definition and Interpretation Adopted by the Committee.

3.31. After a careful consideration of the duties and functions of technicians, the Committee has adopted the following broad definition and interpretation of the term "technician":

"A technical employee, whatever his designation, who occupies a middle level position between the craftsman and the technologist; whose work requires the application of technical knowledge higher than that of a skilled

10

worker but below that of a technologist; whose work moreover requires a proficiency in skills higher than that of a technologist but lower than that of a skilled worker."

The Committee uses the terms "technical" and "technology" in the broadest sense without confining them to denote only the specific disciplines of engineering.

Skill in techniques based on the knowledge of princi- ples, sufficient to judge' the most appropriate techni- que to adopt or to adapt where necessary.

Thorough knowledge of basic principles as found, for example, in the sciences and their application and/or adaptation in novel or out-of-the common situations,

3.4. Education and Training

3.41. The main objective of the technician education programmes of polytechnics is to give the technician student a sound broad-based knowledge of a chosen field. The education needs to be supplemented with actual practical experience in industry or business and commerce. It is therefore necessary that the programmes of technician education and training should be properly drawn up in an integrated manner with the cooperation of industry. Whereas educational programmes should take care of the present and future needs, training programmes should condition the technician to meet the immediate needs

3.32. The following diagram illustrates the two major dimensions which may be used to distinguish skilled workers technicians technologists and scientists. For the purpose of this report, the Committee has restricted the areas of technicians to the extent to which technical personnel can be trained effectively through full-time or part-time courses etc. to occupy middle level positions in the technical manpower spectrum as indicated in the schemetic dia- gram given below:

3.42. Technician jobs involved a level of scientific and technical knowledge higher than that needed by an operator of craftsman, but lower than that of a technologist, engineer or scientist. A technician's education and training should enable him to exercise technical judgment; this judgment is based on an intelligent application of the general principles underlying the technician's work as compared with the reliance upon accumulated skill and experience which is characteristic of the craftsman. Whereas the term 'craftsman' applies to a fairly easily defined and generally recognized degree of skill, the term 'technician' applies to a broad band of abilities ranging from jobs which are only slightly more technical than those

11

of craftsman, right up to others where high-grade technicians are rubbing shoulders with technologists and scientists.

3.43. The special characteristics of technicians' work determine the nature of their education and training. First and foremost, technicians need to have a mastery of those techniques which are directly relevant to their immediate employment. Proficiency in these techniques requires an understanding of the sciences and mathematics on which they are based. This understanding need not be so profound as that of the professional scientist, but should be sufficiently firm to permit its further extension as new applications of the relevant sciences and technology are introduced and also as the technician himself encounters situations which present new requirements for specialisation.

3.44. Most technicians also find themselves concerned technically with the work of others at craft or operative level. They must, therefore, be aware of its nature and problems. This awareness is preferably acquired through the medium of a broad basic training and planned experience which is specifically designed to give direct acquaintance with the work in question.

3.45. Technicians in all fields should also be able to communicate with their colleagues at senior and junior levels, for example, in making reports, issuing and conveying instruction and so on. Therefore. they need fluency in the use of the written and spoken word and this can best be built on the basis of a sound general education.

3.46. The relative extent of the technician's requirement for manual skills as opposed to technical knowledge will depend very largely on the field in which he is employed; in design, for example, it will be minimal, in servicing it may be high.

3.47. During their careers technicians will be required to,guide and supervise the work of skilled work people an craftsmen. In due course they may also be expected to rise to positions of responsibility in industry, commerce and society. Some technicians may set up their own industrial or business concerns. Technician education should not lose sight of these aspects of the future life of technicians. Through their courses, educational approach and extracurricular activities, polytechnics should attempt to develop the right type of motivation, the correct attitude towards dignity of labour, a practical way of thinking and a sense of discipline, team work and social responsibility. The confidence and competence needed for self-employment should also be developed.

3.48. Our country is facing the problem of adapting itself to an ever-increasing rate of technological change and scientific progress: if the technician is to play his proper part in the solution of this problem, he must be adaptable and needs to have an appre- ciation of the social and economic environment beyond the narrow confines, of his immediate discipline. This need for flexibility and a wider outlook calls for broad-based courses which include liberal or humanistic studies and the provision of adequate co-curricular, extra curricular and recreational facilities.

3.49. Entry into a technician occupation requires not only an understanding of the scientific principles behind particular technician functions but also a mastery of the techniques and the skills, procedures and processes which are a part of these techniques. Application of these techniques implies a careful selection of the tools', equipment and skills and their judicious use to production objectives. Polytechnics can offer only a part of the training needed to impart these competencies because of the limitations of their work- shop facilities. They may include in their programme the training in basic manual and machine skills. The rest of the above practical competencies can only be acquired by industrial or field training. Training to achieve an acceptable level of practical competency is thus an integral part of the education of technicians and the success of technician education programmes will depend on the degree to which the integration of polytechnic courses with relevant field/industrial training is achieved and consequently on the degree to which collaboration between polytechnics on the one hand and industry and commerce on the other is established. The Committee recognises the supreme importance of associating industry and commerce the employers- with the planning and implementation of technician education and training programmes. From the initial forecasts of technician manpower requirements through the analysis of job content to the preparation of course syllabuses, and the final assessment of the competence of the technicians, there is an urgent need to ensure the closest possible cooperation of employers. The problems of providing proper education and training for technicians are the concern of a partnership between government, employers and the educational system; each has its responsibilities and each must collaborate with the others in a combined effort if the right solutions are to be found and applied.