The announcement today from Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, giving the green light to Sizewell C nuclear power station will give engineering construction employers the confidence they need to grow their workforce.
Sizewell C will be Britain’s second new nuclear power project in a generation, to be built alongside the French nuclear developer EDF.
This is a key milestone for the nuclear sector.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce the £14.2bn investment in the government’s spending review on Wednesday.
The new nuclear power station, Sizewell C, will replicate the design and operation of Hinkley Point C, currently under construction.
Image courtesy of EDF shows Big Carl crane placing the 245-tonne domed roof onto Hinkley Point C’s first reactor.
“Contractors, understandably, are reticent to invest in future talent when there is uncertainty around project statuses and timescales.
“The commitment to the new nuclear build at Sizewell will give greater certainty to the sector for planning.
“Our own research published earlier this week, highlights that the size of the ECI workforce in the nuclear sector could grow by 29% to more than 46,000 by 2030.
“Steel erectors, electrical technicians and welders – critical skills for new nuclear build – are among the roles most in demand.
“The ECITB is committed to working in partnership with employers, training providers and the CITB to support the Government’s mission to deliver the Sizewell C project.”
Andrew Hockey
CEO, ECITB
Latest research shows demand for workers in growing nuclear sector
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board’s (ECITB) Labour Forecasting Tool (LFT) provides insights into workforce numbers across regions and sectors, predicting trends and potential future demand for workers in the industry.
The tool, which was first launched in November 2023, has been updated using findings from the ECITB 2024 Workforce Census and publicly stated timescales on 3,000 active and future ECI projects across Great Britain.
This growth forecast for the nuclear sector reflects the volume of workers needed at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, but is also dependent on the extent to which the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) is ramped up and the timescale for building work starting on a new nuclear power plant at Wylfa in Anglesey, North Wales, which was earmarked as a preferred site by the previous Government.
Growth forecast informed by ECITB Workforce Census
The revised predictions were possible thanks to a record response rate from industry employers for the latest iteration of the ECITB Workforce Census.
The ECITB Workforce Census 2024 offered a comprehensive overview of the ECI workforce in the nuclear sector, having gathered data on more than 35,000 workers, covering distribution across regions, demographic trends, hiring challenges and business opportunities.
The report highlighted that the nuclear sector is now the largest engineering construction sector in terms of workforce, employing 39.2% of the total ECI workforce, up from 34.6% in 2021.
Read more or download a copy of the sectoral, regional or main 2024 Workforce Census reports
Andrew added: “A key objective of the Foundations pillar of our Leading Industry Learning strategy is to produce impactful labour market intelligence to enable data-driven decision-making.
“The significant Census response rate enabled the ECITB to provide more precise, up-to-date data for the benefit of industry. It allows us to improve the LFT to help make better predictions on future workforce trends and labour demands in the nuclear sector.
“The updates to the LFT reinforce the scale of the challenges facing industry that were outlined in our Workforce Census Report, which revealed that 91% of ECI employers in the nuclear sector are experiencing challenges hiring workers.
“It also highlighted that employers in the sector estimate a 10% increase in headcount by 2027, although our latest LFT forecast puts this figure at 29% by 2030.
“We recognise that addressing skills shortages in the nuclear sector requires a collaborative, multi-agency approach that includes employers, governments, training providers and the ECITB.
“So, we’re calling on all of the sector to work together to help increase the pool of people joining the industry, while continuing to train and upskill existing workers.
“By investing in the workforce, the industry has a fighting chance of closing the skills gap and ensuring the sector has the skilled workforce it needs both for now and the future.”
The ECITB awaits confirmation within the spending review on further infrastructure announcements which support an integrated and managed energy transition.
About Sizewell C
Majority owned by the UK Government, Sizewell C is a British nuclear project which will strengthen energy security while providing thousands of jobs across the country.
Replicating the design and operation of Hinkley Point C, currently under construction, the 3.2-gigawatt power station will generate low-carbon energy for at least 60 years.
It will be built next to Sizewell B which began operating in 1995 and has, so far, powered 6 million homes and prevented more than 76 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
