Abstract
AN important unit on the science side of educational establishments is that which includes the minor technical staff, namely, laboratory and technical assistants, workshop assistants, store keepers, etc., and science teachers know from experience the help which a really good laboratory assistant renders to a department. This is particularly the case in those departments which employ only one assistant. His experience, probably gained from the problems encountered while performing the tasks associated with his post, covers a wide range, depending upon the particular type of science department in which he is engaged. One agrees that the services rendered by these assistants should be adequately recognized, from a financial point of view. In addition, their conditions of service should be such that they are encouraged to take a real interest in their work, and are given facilities for proper training. There is no need to stress examples of such assistants attaining the highest academic distinctions; but it is a fact that many of them, given help and encouragement, display marked resources, particularly in experimental technique. The conditions of employment are not too good in some institutions, and so within the past three or four years a Technical Non-Teaching Staff Branch of the National Union of Public Employees has been formed to safeguard the interests of such technical assistants.
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Technical Non-Teaching Staff in Laboratories. Nature 143, 57–58 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143057c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143057c0