Nuclear industry needs graduates

Tue 15 Jan 2008

The UK needs more graduates in nuclear engineering if it is to satisfy the government's energy plans, it has been reported.

According to building.co.uk, the lack of suitably qualified workers has created a skills gap, which is widening.

The website has reported less than six per cent of nuclear industry workers are aged under 24 and, over the next 15 years, the industry will need an extra 1,000 graduates each year.

Tory MP Michael Fallon announced the Planning and Energy Bill yesterday, which proposed that more energy is to be generated from nuclear power.

Energy secretary, John Hutton, invited energy companies to accelerate plans to build new nuclear power stations.

"Giving the go ahead today that new nuclear power should play a role in providing the UK with clean, secure and affordable energy is in our country's vital long term interest," he claimed.

The announcement has angered environmental lobbyists, Greenpeace, who have consistently opposed nuclear power.

"This is bad news for Britain's energy security and bad news for our efforts to beat climate change," executive director, John Sauven said.