This month, Horizon Nuclear Power has welcomed its second intake of technical apprentices to the Wylfa Newydd team. 

The 11 apprentices, which come from schools across North Wales, have just started a three-year apprenticeship programme run by Horizon in partnership with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai. The apprentices will form part of the operations team that will run the nuclear plant, once it has been built. 

Two of the new apprentices applied for the programme following the Work Insight Week run by Horizon in 2016.

Horizon is planning to build at least 5400MWe of new nuclear generation capacity at the Wylfa Newydd and Oldbury-on-Severn nuclear power plants. Its power station sites will employ 850 people each once operational with a construction workforce of up to 10,000.

Gerwyn Williams, Horizon’s Apprenticeship Manager, said the company is "Committed to recruiting ambitious, talented future engineers to work on the Wylfa Newydd Project." 

"Our latest apprentices will have the chance to develop their knowledge across a range of technical and practical skills while working with the team who will build and operate Anglesey’s new nuclear power station.”

In April, Horizon applied to the UK nuclear regulator to build and operate two Advanced-Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) units at the Wylfa Newydd. Hitachi-GE’s UK ABWR reactor technology is progressing through the fourth and final stage of its generic design assessment and is on track to be approved for use in the UK by the end of December 2017. 


Photo: Horizon Nuclear Power's apprentice intake for 2017 (Credit: Horizon)