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IET initial comments on the Nuclear White Paper

The IET’s initial response to publication of the UK’s Nuclear White emphasises the competition for scarce nuclear engineering skills globally.

10th January 2008

The IET welcomes the recognition by government that skills and supply chain issues will be material to the build of new nuclear power stations in the UK.  However the assertion that the time taken to develop projects to the point where construction can commence allows sufficient time for the industry to develop skills and construction capacity appears simplistic.

This is because the expansion of nuclear stations in the UK coincides with:

• the decommissioning of previous generations of reactors
• the expansion of renewable energy technologies
• the renovation of the power supply and distribution infrastructure
• upgrade of the rail, water and sewerage infrastructures.

Engineers will not only be needed once the new nuclear stations are nearing completion but for the planning and approval process and the rigorous preparation and challenge of safety cases for the new reactors long before construction starts.

Crucially, the UK will be competing with other countries for scarce nuclear engineering skills.

The nuclear industry specifically and the power industry generally has a rapidly ageing skills profile in most developed countries.  The situation is worse for nuclear than other segments of the industry:

1. because nuclear has been seen as a sunset industry for many years,
2. because the skills needed are similar to those needed for decommissioning of old plant, which is happening on the same timescale, and
3. because, unlike for some other power technologies, it is unlikely that nuclear skilled people can be met from off-shoring or recruitment from abroad.

The numbers of pupils studying science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects is beginning to increase but those opting to go into engineering are still much too low. In addition, the time elapsed between enticing a person into the industry and having them fully qualified and skilled to contribute at a significant or specialised level is 10-15 years minimum.   We would encourage strong and proactive involvement by government in ensuring that the skills are available for the development of safe, secure power supplies.

The Power Academy, initiated by the IET to address the skills gap in power distribution offers one model but wide-ranging policy actions will in our view be required.

To view the IET comments on the ePolitix web site please go to http://www.epolitix.com/EN/ForumBriefs/200801/475ef3c7-6c19-43c8-9452-7a03962ffbb8.htm