22 Mar 2022
The announcement to accelerate and grow nuclear projects in the UK, following a meeting of industry leaders has been welcomed by the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG), the industry’s voice on skills.
The nuclear sector has created quality, sustainable employment for the last 70 years, and can create a high-wage, highly skilled workforce, across remote areas of the UK. The workforce requirements of increased investment in new large and small scale nuclear power are significant and will require close collaboration and forward planning to ensure the sector’s skills needs are met.
Employers, who make up the NSSG have already modelled the potential requirements of growth scenarios.
Our recent Nuclear Workforce Assesment1 indicates around 7000 additional job opportunities would be generated each year under a high growth scenario, which is more than double the quantity that we have been bringing into the sector recently. These roles cover a wide range of disciplines including technical and non-technical capabilities. Project Managers, planners, engineers, commercial specialists, pipe welders, fitters, and cyber security represent just some of the roles that we already struggle to recruit.
Firm plans and a commitment to multiple nuclear projects provide great conditions to invest in our future skills pipelines and our UK manufacturing capability, creating and enhancing rewarding career opportunities in nuclear.
The NSSG will continue to focus on working in collaboration with a full range of nuclear stakeholders, to ensure employers can access the skills and expertise needed to unlock the full growth potential in our sector. The nuclear sector has been a strong advocate of developing apprentices at all levels and will continue to invest in the development of new entrants to the sector, as well as upskilling the current workforce.
The Nuclear Workforce Assessment is produced by the NSSG and provides a comprehensive forecast of skills supply and demand across the nuclear sector – including new build, current operations, decommissioning, research and development, and defence activities. It includes several different analyses and explores the total demand of skills for the workforce and also compares this to the current supply i.e. our existing workforce.
https://www.nssguk.com/media/2812/nwa-2021-issue-1.pdf
The NSSG is the Nuclear Industry Skills lead and provides ‘one voice’ to government. Membership comprises, major employers, government departments, and trade unions in the nuclear industries.
