Technicians are fundamental to efficient operations of research vessels and to the collection of high-quality scientific data.

Investment in advanced scientific equipment without sustained maintenance, calibration and technical support not only reduces the life expectancy of the equipment, but also undermines the reliability and validity of the data being collected. There is a reported shortage of training opportunities for marine specialist technicians in Europe83, with all skills being acquired on-the-job. The range and complexity of scientific equipment on modern research vessels also means it is difficult for individual organisations to have enough technicians with the required skills to operate and maintain them. Commercial companies presently offer better career growth opportunities, and shortage of trained technical staff is a great risk to quality and efficient scientific operations. All Swedish research vessels employ technicians to support the operation, and maintenance of onboard (e.g. Ferrybox, weather station, multibeam) and portable (e.g. CTD, AUVs, MVPs) scientific equipment. In all cases, there is little-to-no redundancy in technical support on any of the vessels. A national pool of trained, sea-going technicians will not only ensure access to firstclass technical support, but also enables sharing of personnel between vessels and improves and diversifies the career development for technical staff.

In 2021, SLU initiated a pilot effort with a group of vessel technicians working to identify common needs of the technical staff for training and knowledge sharing. Building on this, SWERVE will provide a framework and the resources needed to support strategic training of the national pool of technicians through development of the NMTN. Open to any Swedish marine technician, this network will identify gaps in national expertise and work to fill these gaps where possible. Through Module 2, SWERVE will also identify technical experts who can act as national contact points for special instruments and provide experienced troubleshooting or maintenance for them. This reduces the need for each organisation to have technical staff
trained in all equipment. Many Swedish universities also employ technicians for smaller vessel operations and field station activities, which will be invited to the network. There is, therefore, considerable opportunity to grow the NMTN pool whilst significantly broadening the career path of marine technicians nationally. This will be achieved through engagement with field stations, as well as projects such as SMaRC (who support many research engineers working with marine technology), EMBRC (where coordination of field station technicians has already been initiated) and VOTO (who supports specialised technicians for autonomous vehicles such as gliders).