Teaching Laboratory Technician Job Description

What is the job description of a Teaching Laboratory Technician? What are the duties and responsibilities of a Teaching Laboratory Technician? What does a Teaching Laboratory Technician do?

Job description of a Teaching Laboratory Technician

A Teaching laboratory technician works in all kinds of educational institutions including secondary schools, further education colleges and universities. Their tasks involve supporting the work of science teachers/lecturers and their students to ensure that they:

  • make the best use of the time they spend in the laboratory;
  • use equipment safely;
  • accurately record the results of their work.

The role mainly involves providing technical support, ensuring that equipment is functioning properly and is ready to use, and that the right materials are available for particular lessons. Sometimes Teaching laboratory technicians work closely with students to explain or demonstrate experiments or how to use equipment as well as helping teachers with a class and supporting individual students on research projects.

This Teaching Laboratory Technician job description example includes the list of most important Teaching Laboratory Technician duties and responsibilities as shown below. It can be modified to fit the specific Teaching Laboratory Technician profile you're trying to fill as a recruiter or job seeker.

Teaching Laboratory Technician Duties and Responsibilities

Teaching Laboratory Technician job description should contain a variety of functions and roles including:

  • Running trials of experiments prior to classes and then demonstrating techniques for experiments;
  • Preparing equipment and chemicals before lessons – from test tubes to state-of-the-art microscopes;
  • Ensuring that equipment is properly cleaned and that chemicals, drugs and other materials are appropriately stored;
  • Working with individual students and supporting them on research projects;
  • Coordinating work in the laboratory to ensure efficient use is made of expensive pieces of equipment.
  • Maintaining and repairing equipment and laboratory apparatus;
  • Record keeping, e.g. for students’ practical sessions, tracking methods, results, etc;
  • Managing the stock control of chemicals and equipment;
  • Contributing to high-level research, if working at university level;
  • Liaising with academic staff to discuss timetables, equipment requirements and work plans;
  • Ensuring that all health and safety procedures are understood and followed correctly;
  • Cataloguing recordings and making them available when requested (if the department houses audiovisual resources);
  • Supporting the work of teachers in classes and laboratory sessions and giving technical advice to staff and students;

Teaching Laboratory Technician Requirements / Skills / Qualifications

Teaching Laboratory Technician job description should include these common skills and qualifications:

  • Degree in Biology, Chemistry, Physics or other relevant discipline.
  • Prior working experience in similar role
  • Strong practical and organisational skills with the ability to manage your own workload
  • Forward planning and the ability to use your initiative
  • Excellent scientific and technical knowledge and good IT skills
  • Written and oral communication skills to communicate with teaching staff and students
  • Team working skills to work successfully with a team of technicians
  • Ability to cope with competing demands
  • Thorough, meticulous approach
  • Knowledge of safe working practices.

As a hiring manager, recruiting an ideal Teaching Laboratory Technician starts with crafting a good job description. Use this Teaching Laboratory Technician job description template to save yourself time and help you attract the most qualified candidates. Feel free to revise it to meet your specific needs.

Job seekers interviewing for the role of a Teaching Laboratory Technician may also reference it in preparation for the interview.