Government confirms new taskforce to ramp up nuclear skills
The government has announced a new taskforce geared towards boosting skilled workers in the defence and civil nuclear sectors.
Chaired by Sir Simon Bollom – former chief executive officer of defence equipment and support – it will look to plug future skills gaps, developing a long-term pipeline of workers to meet the UK’s nuclear ambitions.
Nuclear includes a wide variety of roles ranging from scientific and engineering roles through to logistics, project management, commercial and finance – with a range of apprentice and graduate opportunities.
The industry currently underpins hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK, both directly and through the extended supply chain, and is growing rapidly.
This follows the government entering into a new nuclear submarine partnership with the US and Australia, dubbed ‘Aukus’, with all the reactors for the UK and Australian SSN-AUKUS submarines set to be made in Derby.
The UK also operates the Vanguard and Astute submarines which use nuclear technology, as will the new Dreadnought Class from the 2030s.
The government also plans to revive power generation with a new fleet of power plants, including projects Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C.
Earlier this month, the government launched industry vehicle Great British Nuclear, which will support the government’s ambition to ramp up generation from 7GW to 24GW over the next three decades.
It will target new sites for projects and oversee the companies’ small modular reactor competition.
Minister for nuclear, Andrew Bowie said: “The UK’s nuclear revival, with the launch of Great British Nuclear, will put us centre-stage in the global race to unleash a new generation of nuclear technology. The taskforce will support this expansion by securing the skills and workforce we need to deliver this, opening up exciting opportunities and careers to help bolster our energy security.”
Sir Simon Bollom, added: “I am absolutely delighted to have secured this extremely important role. The nuclear Sector is vital to our nation, and I am proud to have been given the opportunity to lead such an important Taskforce to ensure that we have the people, and skills we need to deliver our Programmes.”
This follows warnings earlier this week from Westminster’s Science, Innovation and Technology Committee argues that government plans to revive the country’s nuclear ambitions are more of a ‘wish list’ than a strategy.