Time to increase momentum in bridging the nuclear skills gap

摘要

Auf einer Konferenz der Internationalen Atomenergie-Organisation (IAEO) im Mai 2014 wurde die aktuelle und absehbare schwierige Gratwanderung deutlich, die auf alle Länder mit kerntechnischen Aktivitäten zukommt, um zukünftig auf ausreichend kompetentes Personal zurück greifen zu können.%A international conference hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in May 2014 highlighted the difficult balancing act that countries have in making sure that a pool of talent continues to be available to the nuclear sector into the future. The International Conference on Human Resource Development for Nuclear Power Programmes noted the huge task of maintaining a skilled workforce with the ability to cover nuclear in its widest sense: everything from fuel manufacturing, nuclear power plant operations, decommissioning, waste management and of course nurturing those who may become future regulators or captains of industry. The conference also correctly identified the different requirements of countries depending on their individual circumstances. There can certainly be no delay in this task. Even if no new nuclear power plants were to be built again - which is certainly not the case - highly-skilled individuals would still be required to manage existing plants, work in decommissioning, waste management and so on. The nuclear industry should continue and expand its support for academies, training establishments and other such institutions with the goal of training the next generation of nuclear professionals. At the same time, knowledge transfer programmes should be stepped up, so that professionals who are approaching retirement can pass on their invaluable expertise to those who will follow them.