SKILLS & COURSES
Powerful incentives
A wide range of courses and schemes are on offer to attract new entrants and
engineers in other sectors to the nuclear industry. Julia Pierce reports
WITH THE UK facing the twin
spectres of climate change and
over-dependence on energy
sources from abroad, nuclear
power is once again at the top of the
national agenda. That means the
focus is also turning to the skills
base needed to support the UK’s
nuclear industry, and whether it is in
a fit state to meet the challenges
ahead.
While no final decision on the
future of nuclear new-build has
been made, projections suggest
that the country will be importing
about three quarters of its primary
energy by 2020 if nuclear power is
allowed to decline. In its last energy
White Paper the government made
clear its intention that nuclear will
50
‘The oil industry has traditionally taken
engineers from nuclear, and now the
flow is starting to reverse’ Jean Llewellyn, NSAN
continue to play a part in securing
the UK’s future energy provision.
Nuclear power currently
accounts for around 20 per cent of
UK generation, though many plants
are reaching the end of their lives.
All of the country’s 12 nuclear stations,
which use mainly secondgeneration
advanced gas-cooled
reactors (AGRs), will have closed by
2023. Already, five of the nine firstgeneration
Magnox stations, most
of which were built in the 1960s,
have closed after operating safely
beyond their expected lives. Meanwhile,
there is legislative pressure
from the EU and beyond to lower
the UK’s high carbon dioxide emissions.
Although significant
resources have been ploughed into
developing a new generation of
renewable energy sources, these
are coming nowhere near filling the
generation gap that nuclear’s
demise would create.
If new-build goes ahead, there is
no doubt that a large number of new
engineering roles will be created,
not just in the power stations themselves,
but also in roles connected
to the thorny issue of dealing with
radioactive waste.
Also required will be support
staff such as safety standards
officers to deal with the regulatory
issues created, including engineers
examining internal hazards, commissioning
reactor fault studies, and
overseeing structural integrity of the
plants.
Various initiatives have been put
in place by government bodies, universities
and private companies to
both encourage new entrants into
the industry at all levels and also
encourage engineers with trans-
the EnGIneeR 29 SEPTEMBER–12 OCTOBER 2008
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