WARRINGTON North MP Charlotte Nichols attended the Nuclear Industry Association’s ‘Nuclear Week in Parliament’ (NWIP) last week, showing her support for the industry and engaging with young people at the start of an exciting career in the sector.
Among the events she attended was an important meeting hosted by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group where she was able to hear about progress on its nationally important mission.
The NDA group are tasked with safely and securely decommissioning the nation’s oldest nuclear sites. It’s one of the most important environmental programmes in the world, removing the burden for future generations.
At the NWIP Skills and Apprenticeship Fair, Charlotte Nichols met apprentices and graduates, including Chris Jackson, a Process Design Graduate from Sellafield, who explained first-hand the vital work the NDA group are doing on the ground.
“Working at Sellafield as a graduate has allowed me to contribute to the decommissioning mission whilst developing my own behavioural and technical skills as an engineer.
“I decided to join Sellafield as a placement student as I was interested about the nuclear energy industry and wanted to apply the technical knowledge gained from university in a sector, I was passionate about.
“I have directly contributed towards the clean-up of Sellafield, in particular the retrieval of waste from its legacy silos. Knowing I am contributing to Sellafield’s mission of creating a clean and safe environment for future generations is one of the reasons I find my work so rewarding.”
There are currently more than 1,500 apprentices and graduates across NDA group early careers schemes and hundreds of PhD students and post-doctoral researchers have been sponsored, focusing on developing advanced skills.
Charlotte said “Nuclear Week is one of my most important times in Parliament each year. We have had twenty events over three days across the industry, and I’m proud that Warrington’s excellence as a centre of highly skilled nuclear workers is recognised nationally, and indeed internationally.
“New analysis from the Northern Nuclear Alliance shows that there are now 7000 jobs in civil nuclear in Warrington, and I have been delighted to see such a strong showing from Warrington at all of the events including our amazing NDA graduates and apprentices with whom I was so pleased to meet.
“We have many opportunities for further growth, particularly with the Sizewell C Final Investment Decision and the Great British Nuclear selection of the SMR technologies for development both due imminently – something I have spent my time in Parliament lobbying hard for. The Hinkley Point C project alone has been worth almost half a billion pounds of direct investment into Warrington-based businesses, and we stand to make similar gains from future projects coming online as a core part of the supply chain.
“I have had conversations this week with representatives across the sector about drawing further investment and jobs into our area, as we strive to meet the new Governments objectives on growth “and Net Zero – something the civil nuclear sector will play a key part in helping to deliver! It’s a very exciting time indeed in this space.
“I would also like to specifically thank Warrington’s NDA apprentices for their time and hope that they inspire many young people in in town to know that there are skilled and rewarding opportunities in nuclear careers available for them locally.”
The NDA group’s work will last for well over a hundred years so developing a pipeline of future talent is an essential part of delivering this nationally important mission long into the future.
To find out more about a career within the NDA, including graduate and apprenticeships opportunities, visit: Working for NDA – Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), ndagroupgraduates.co.uk, energus.co.uk/skills-training/apprenticeships/.