The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) has conducted a workforce census report of the UK’s nuclear industry, concluding that more than 90% of employers in the nuclear sector who participated are experiencing challenges hiring workers.
The findings highlight the challenges facing the nuclear sector to ensure it has the skilled workers needed to meet future demand given around 71% of employers in the wider engineering construction industry in Great Britain are also struggling with recruitment. Project managers, safety case technicians, project controllers, mechanical engineers, electrical fitters, planners and designers are among the roles that are proving most difficult to recruit, the research finds having gathered data on more than 37,000 workers across the UK. The Sectoral Workforce Census report notes that employers struggling to fill vacancies cite overall volume or a lack of qualifications, skills and training as the main problems. In addition, the location of offices and sites often exacerbates recruitment difficulties, particularly for experienced workers.
In one positive development, the report does note that the proportion of women in the sector is two percentage points higher than in 2021, at 21% of the nuclear workforce.
However, it adds that, at the current rate, the target of 40% women by 2030 set by the Nuclear Sector Deal (for the engineering construction segment of the nuclear sector) would not be achieved until 2050, and gender parity would be reached until 2063. This reinforces an earlier study which revealed the nuclear sector is struggling to appeal to women to help plug looming workforce and skills shortages. When surveyed, only 12% of women said they would consider a career in nuclear.
Overall, the nuclear sector is now the largest engineering construction sector in terms of the UK workforce, employing 39.2% of the total and up from 34.6% in 2021. Notably, 3.12% of the nuclear workforce are apprentices and trainees, compared to 2.4% across the wider engineering and construction sector. This contributes to the sector’s younger age profile, with some 20% of workers under 30, up five percentage points from 2021. Meanwhile, the proportion of workers over 60 is 11%, three percentage points lower than the sector average of 14%. Employers in the nuclear sector estimate a 10% increase in headcount by 2027. While this is below the engineering and construction industry average of 12%, a 10% workforce increase represents a significant rise in absolute numbers.
