WARRINGTON is playing an important role in a nuclear jobs boom which has seen more than 6,400 high-skilled jobs created across the North West in just five years.
New figures from the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) show that employment in the North West’s civil nuclear sector has risen by 26.7 per cent since 2021, reaching 30,445 jobs in 2026.
And Warrington is right at the heart of that growth.
The town has a unique position within Britain’s nuclear industry, with Sellafield Ltd based in Warrington, while the historic nuclear research and technology base at Risley and Birchwood has developed into one of the country’s most important nuclear clusters.
The latest figures underline the continuing importance of nuclear to Warrington’s economy, with the town providing a base for companies and organisations involved in everything from decommissioning and nuclear research to engineering, project management and the wider supply chain.
Figures published by the NIA in 2024 showed that*more than 5,000 people in Warrington were already working across new-build and decommissioning programmes, highlighting the town’s importance to the wider North West nuclear economy.
Warrington Borough Council has previously described Birchwood Park as the UK’s largest cluster of nuclear research and technology firms, with more than 5,000 people employed there. The area has its roots in the post-war nuclear research and development activities of organisations including British Nuclear Fuels Ltd and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
That heritage continues to evolve, with Birchwood remaining a major centre for companies working across the nuclear supply chain.
The scale of the wider regional industry is also demonstrated by Sellafield itself.
The Cumbrian site is described by the NIA as the North West’s largest nuclear employer, with around 11,726 jobs supporting one of the world’s largest nuclear decommissioning programmes.
But its connection with Warrington runs deep, with Sellafield Ltd’s corporate and professional base in the town linking Warrington directly to the huge programme of work taking place at Sellafield.
The latest NIA Jobs Map also reveals that the growth is not restricted to engineers and scientists.
The nuclear industry supports a huge range of careers, including project management, construction, finance, legal services, communications, apprenticeships, security, fire and rescue and specialist technical roles.
The NIA says the North West is particularly important because it spans the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear generation and decommissioning.
Across the UK, the industry has now passed a historic milestone, with 102,606 people employed in the civil nuclear sector, up from 61,371 in 2021 – a 67 per cent increase.
NIA chief executive Tom Greatrex said the North West’s long nuclear history continued to drive the industry forward.
“The North West has a proud nuclear history that continues to this day to drive the UK nuclear industry forward with world-leading capabilities and skills.”
He added that the region would be essential to delivering the next generation of nuclear projects if proposed regulatory reforms were implemented.
For Warrington, the figures reinforce the importance of Birchwood, Risley and the town’s wider nuclear supply chain at a time when the UK is looking to expand nuclear generation while continuing the enormous task of decommissioning its existing nuclear legacy.
The town’s nuclear story is therefore far from being simply part of its industrial past.
From the former Risley research establishment to today’s Birchwood Park businesses and the continuing presence of Sellafield Ltd, nuclear remains a major part of Warrington’s economic identity – and the latest figures suggest that role could become even more significant in the years ahead.
The Nuclear Industry Association’s 2026 Jobs Map shows the continuing scale and diversity of the UK’s civil nuclear workforce.
