Behind every brilliant practical, every smoothly run lesson, the equipment’s that’s ready before anyone asks. The room that’s safe, stocked, and somehow still standing by Friday. The “can I just have…?” moments that turn into miracles, and “how did you do that?” there’s usually a technician making it happen
On Friday 13 March 2026, technicians across the UK are taking part in #TECHOGNITION
#TECHOGNITION is a UK-wide celebration spotlighting the skills, dedication, care and essential work carried out by technical support staff in schools and college, labs, workshops, preproom, classrooms, ICT suites, design and technology (and far beyond) in schools and colleges every single day. Let’s make sure technicians feel seen, valued, and loudly appreciated
Visit Techognition How to take part Read ASE’s Techognition 2026 message
What is Techognition?
Techognition is a one-day celebration designed to publicly showcase the range of skills, and the variety of tasks technicians take on, often behind the scenes, sometimes right alongside students, always essential. It exists because technical roles are not always fully understood or recognised, and that has real consequences for workload, retention, recruitment, practical provision and safety.
Who is it for?
All school and FE technicians can take part, including colleagues working in Science, ICT, Technology (D&T), Food, Art and Design, Music, Drama, P.E. and more. If you’re a teacher, head of department, or senior leader, this is your prompt to champion the people who keep learning safe, resourced and possible.
How to join in on the day
Techognition is simple, positive, and easy to do, even on the busiest day:
- Take a photo of yourself (or your technician colleagues) doing a genuine technician task, spectacular or routine.
- Upload photos to the Techognition website (uploads go live at 08:00 on Friday 13 March 2026) so they appear in the event gallery.
- Share on social media using #TECHOGNITION (and tag your technicians or team) with a short description of what’s happening in the photo.
ASE’s Technician Committee put it perfectly. This is about changing the narrative and shouting about the skills, kindness, innovation and professionalism technicians bring every day.
Launching soon: Technicians’ Top Tips (with a York prize!)
To keep the recognition going beyond one day, we’re also launching our Technicians’ Top Tips competition on the STEM Community.
Here’s the idea:
- Technicians from any subject area share a practical, time-saving, safety-boosting or sanity-preserving tip that helps learning run better.
- The community will vote for the most useful tips.
- The most highly voted tips will be in the running to win two nights for two in York (full details and terms and conditions to follow in the competition post).
Whether your best tip is about prep-room organisation, workshop workflows, ICT set-up, ordering systems, equipment maintenance, risk reduction, inclusive practicals, or the one hack that saves your week, we want to hear it.
Over to you
This is your invitation to help us give technicians the spotlight they’ve earned:
- Technicians: take part in Techognition, share your story, and get ready to post your Top Tip.
- Teachers and leaders: publicly recognise your technicians, tag them, thank them, and tell people what they do that goes above and beyond.
That’s it.
No speeches. No perfection. Let’s show real technician work, as it is.
Let’s make Techognition 2026 the year technicians are not just appreciated quietly, but proudly celebrated.