Nuclear is big news. It’s at the crux of energy industry strategy, with a government commitment to creating 100,000 jobs in the nuclear sector. Worldwide, 436 power reactors currently contribute 15% of the world’s energy and the pace of development is increasing. Over forty new reactors are under construction, 106 are in planning and 266 are being proposed. This is an industry in transformation.
There’s something circular about this trend. Back in the 1950s, the UK was home to a golden period for the nuclear industry. A world-class engineering capability grew up here, with the best minds and cutting edge skills working on our shores. However, concerns around nuclear safety, public scepticism and a lack of government will led to a reduction in investment in the nuclear industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
And what was the result? The teaching of nuclear engineering in the UK fell into decline. A focus on service industries in our economy meant that engineering, across the board, became a less attractive option for graduates. We now see a situation where only 40,000 new engineers enter the workforce every year. Just 13% of graduates leave university with science, technology, engineering or mathematics degrees.
So why is this ominous for the nuclear industry? The reality is that between 2015 and 2025, the UK could face a crucial skills shortage. If that happens, the UK’s power supplies would be less reliable and more expensive. That’s a problem for everyone – and one we need to address urgently.
You can read Emma-Jayne’s complete article here.
Tags: engineering, mckenzie douglas, nuclear, physics
I was very interested in reading about “Getting the message out to the wider engineering community” and that is will take time after so many years of neglect.
There are many engineers working outside the Nuclear industry that would like the opportunity to be involved in the new build programs and bring to the industry their skills and experiences. The fundamental hurdle for this migration of experience skills is not the lack of visibility that the nuclear industry offers a secure future, but the reluctance of the nuclear industry to bring in these relevant skills with out those engineers having practical Nuclear domain knowledge and experience.
Until the Nuclear industry accepts that the core engineering skills from other industries would be invaluable to the success of developing a nuclear engineering capability, accepting that domain knowledge will have to be taught/gained over time, then it will continue to struggle.
As an example I have over 20 years experience in the aviation industry as a safety engineer and manager qualified to Masters Degree level in safety engineering. The aerospace industry is a high integrity industry just like the Nuclear industry, designing, developing and implementing safety critical solutions to rigorous standards and requirements. However I have spent the last 12 months attempting to move out of the aerospace industry into the nuclear industry and the only hurdle preventing this for occurring is the fact that the nuclear industry are adamant that they want their engineers to have practical nuclear domain knowledge and experience overseeing the fundamental core engineering skills and principals that are relevant across domains.
The nuclear industry can not continue to neglect the potential skills base that currently exists outside of the nuclear industry that it needs to tap into, especially as these skills and experiences are shrinking rapidly and could eventually disappear altogether without them taking advantage now.