Britain’s next generation of nuclear power plants will be able to call on a new high-tech further education college to train their workforce.
Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock, MP, (pictured) set out the plans during a speech to the Politics Home Skills Summit, marking the 70th anniversary of the Butler Reform Act, which legislated to make technical vocational training a high quality education path that matched academic routes.
Nuclear new build in the UK is forecast to generate up to 40,000 jobs in the sector at its peak, but employers are currently reporting skills shortages – particularly in engineering. Tackling this skills gap is one of the actions to be taken forward through a focused Skills Delivery Plan led by the Nuclear Energy Skills Alliance (NESA).
The minister unveiled his intention to open a new elite college jointly funded by government and the nuclear industry that would provide high level technical skills training for the nuclear power sector. He also laid out plans to develop a software engineering college to respond to the needs of the information technology sector.
Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock, MP, said: “A new generation of industry-led elite colleges will give our workforce the right skills to lead the way in both nuclear and software. The growing nuclear sector offers vital opportunities for highly skilled workers and we must make sure that the UK is at the forefront of this growing industry.
Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, Manager Director, EDF Energy New Nuclear Build, said: “This announcement of a proposed elite college for nuclear skills is an important step forward for the UK and its nuclear future.”
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