A Message from the Chair

This year’s winter program, “Future Nuclear Technologies: Resilience and Flexibility” caused me to take a moment’s pause. First let me share some background on why… A recent assessment of the commercial nuclear workforce indicated that there would be 25,000 positions to be filled in the next 4 years. And this is just the jobs we survey primarily in commercial generation. It doesn’t account for DOE, NRC, OEMs, constructors, outage companies, educators and certainly other fields that require the same or similar credentials. Bottom line… the number is likely higher. Retirement of baby-boomers, long threatened to hurt the industry, hasn’t seemed to materialize but that is a situation that cannot be put off forever. It will come… So the result of my pause over this year’s program focus is simply this: How resilient and flexible is our workforce development system? How resilient and flexible is our workforce? And finally, how resilient and flexible are the education and training processes and pipelines that produce the worker we need to continue to operate and maintain our plants safely and efficiently? Our industry has responded to a great number of challenges both historically and in recent times. We have actively sought opportunity to sustain rigor and discipline in our training programs, to pursue excellence in preparing our plants and our people, to ensure that we are second to none when it comes to protecting public health and safety as well as the safety and health of our employees. I know we will continue to aggressively pursue these things. But, our world is changing around us more rapidly than we could have imagined. The...

Message from the Chair – The New Build Era

12,672 days. When the NRC issued the combined construction and operating license for Vogtle Units 3 and 4 on February 9, 2012, that’s how long it had been since the last construction license had been issued (May 31, 1977 – Wolf Creek). Was this the moment when everything changed? The clouds didn’t part, revealing choirs of angels singing in praise of nuclear power. There was no earth shattering kaboom. But still, it was a good day. It means we’ve moved forward, even if one tiny step, to secure a future that continues to be powered by safe, clean, nuclear energy. And only a few weeks later, the NRC followed up with the approval for two new units at VC Summer. A new generation of nuclear reactors will require a new generation of a trained nuclear workforce. People are needed at all levels, from technicians and trades to licensed engineers and Ph.D.s., and those of us working in nuclear education, training, and workforce development will be the backbone of the supply to an industry in growth. No one doubts that there are still plenty of challenges ahead. The pressures of a prolonged economic downturn don’t make it any easier to sell the idea of a huge capital investment. And the lingering political effects of the accident at Fukushima increase the need for us to demonstrate the margin of safety inherent in our reactor fleet. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as chair of the Education, Training, and Workforce Development Division of this ANS this past year. No other group cuts across all disciplines of nuclear science...

A Message From the Chair

A Message From the Chair When we look at the potential for the development of new nuclear power generation in this country and around the world, there is little doubt that the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will loom large for years to come.  There are many factors that will impact the pace of new nuclear development, but however it progresses, the industry will have a need for a well-prepared workforce.  The workforce history, the areas of need, and the forces of demographics have not changed, and we know that continued hard work will be required in nuclear engineering education and nuclear technician training programs to keep the pipeline full. What we don’t know is how the Fukushima accident will affect our ability to attract high quality individuals into the nuclear field.  The accident is bound to cause an emotional response in people.  How will people’s emotions affect their career choices? It will be years, if ever, before the impact of the accident on the industry and on workforce development is truly understood.  The early evidence is anecdotal at best, but what news there is thus far appears to be good.  We have not seen students fleeing from university nuclear engineering programs.  On the contrary, students are energized and rededicated to the idea of making the next generation of nuclear power plants even better. The Fukushima aftermath will no doubt challenge those of us in the Education, Training, and Workforce Development fields for some time, but it is a challenge we are up to. The ETWDD has a full slate of sessions at the...

A Message from the Chair

The Role of Nuclear Professionals as Public Educators The history of the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy is accentuated by a number of significant emotional events.  Some have been distinctly positive; the first man-made self-sustaining fission reaction, the first electricity generated by atomic energy, feats accomplished by the first nuclear powered naval vessels, the invention of life-saving nuclear medicine techniques, etc.  During and following each of these milestones our collective understanding of the technology has continued to evolve and mature with increased knowledge and experience. Other periods are defined by negative significant emotional events; reactor accidents at SL-1, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and now Fukushima Daiichi.  Following each of these accidents the worldwide nuclear community has reacted by systematically dissecting the mechanical, natural, and human responses to the accident, then squeezing every drop of information and every lesson learned from the experience.  Inevitably oversight is enhanced, nuclear regulations evolve, reactor and power plant designs are updated, worker training adjusts, and operating practices improve.  Together these responses result in a prompt jump in our collective knowledge and understanding, and increases in safety margins. While the nuclear community’s knowledge and understanding has continued to grow, we’ve been less successful in helping our ultimate stakeholders, the public, understand our technology.  Lack of information and knowledge can lead to mistrust and fear, and in this era of instant communications, social media, and streaming video in every pocket this shortcoming can be disastrous.  For example, in Germany opponents of nuclear energy have convinced the public that nuclear plants pose an unacceptable level of risk.  This despite the fact that shutting down their...

A Message from the Chair

Efforts to build the next generation of nuclear power plants in USA seem to fall one step back for every two steps forward.  Problems with financing, competition from low natural gas prices, and lower electricity demand forecasts have slowed or halted plans by many American utilities to build new nuclear power plants.  On the surface these developments might seem to lessen the need for a robust pipeline of new nuclear engineers, technicians, and scientists, but that is far from true.  Globalization of the nuclear supply chain and the steady growth of nuclear energy in Asia, Europe and Africa are creating demand for nuclear talent around the world.  As I write this letter, there are 58 reactors under construction in the world, several more about to begin construction (including 4 in the USA), and contracts for additional new reactors are being signed each month.  Many of these new reactors are located in nations and regions without an existing nuclear workforce or nuclear education and training infrastructures. The international nuclear expansion is creating new career opportunities for experienced “nukes” and a worldwide marketplace for nuclear talent.  Coupled with the pending retirement of 15-30% of the workforce over the next five or so years, this global demand means young people entering the nuclear industry today have opportunities many of us never dreamed of.  It also means existing nuclear education and training programs will need to operate at peak efficiency to feed this national and global hunger for nuclear brainpower. There’s a lot going on to meet these workforce challenges including rising enrollments in nuclear engineering programs, roll-out of the “Nuclear Uniform Curriculum”...