CRISIS IN THE WORKPLACE: DECLINING ENROLLMENTS IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING

摘要

Nuclear engineering enrollments have declined substantially during the 1990s, with a 72% decline inrnundergraduate enrollment and a 46% decline in M.S. enrollment. However, recent experience over thernpast two years indicates a substantial increase in demand for nuclear engineers. In order to understandrnthese trends and suggest measures to address them, there have been two workshops and a surveyrnconducted during over the past 18 months. This presentation will summarize the results of thesernactivities, which are briefly described below.rnThe Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) organized a workshop at the 1998rnWinter Meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in Washington, D.C. The purpose of thernworkshop, titled “Crisis in the Workplace: Manpower Supply and Demand in the Nuclear Industry: ThernImbalance”, was to address the growing imbalance between supply and demand in the nuclear workplace,rnan imbalance that could lead to a manpower crisis in the coming years if not addressed by academe,rnindustry, and the government. This workshop identified a number of problems and potential solutionsrnrelated to the nuclear manpower shortage, which will be briefly summarized in the presentation.rnNEDHO (with the assistance and support of DOE) arranged for ASEE to conduct a survey on manpowerrnsupply and demand in the nuclear industry. The survey was sent to 32 nuclear engineering departmentsrnand 168 companies that fit the description of a firm that would hire nuclear engineers or were known tornhire nuclear engineers. The survey was distributed in the month of February 1999 and responses wererncollected until September 30, 1999 at which point the survey was closed. The survey provides compellingrnevidence that the manpower gap is real and will become worse in coming years unless steps are taken tornreverse the declining enrollments in nuclear engineering programs. The survey will be discussed in thernpresentation.rnA second workshop entitled “Crisis in the Workplace II: Addressing the Growing Supply/Demand Gaprnin the Nuclear Industry,” was held at the Winter 1999 ANS Meeting in Long Beach. A one day workshoprnwith invited talks and panel discussion was conducted and a number of important conclusions andrnrecommendations resulted from this workshop, which will be discussed in the presentation.