The nuclear energy industry in the United States continues to undergo a renaissance that includes the development of a more cost-effective and efficient infrastructure, such as modular nuclear reactors. However, significant challenges exist in attracting and retaining qualified talent to keep the industry humming.
To help address these challenges, ORAU launched the Partnership for Nuclear Energy (PNE). PNE brings together leading nuclear energy experts to form a comprehensive think tank comprised of more than 95 partners, including leading universities, community colleges and technical skill training organizations, industries producing large and small nuclear reactors, professional industry organizations, national research laboratories, and government agencies.
“We established the Partnership for Nuclear Energy to develop a set of comprehensive solutions that address and correct STEM shortfalls, whether they exist at the national policy and programmatic levels, within education and training initiatives, and/or relative to federal and private industry investments,” said Ken Tobin, Ph.D., Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer. ORAU leads and convenes PNE. “This collaborative approach is essential to bridge the gaps, drive collective action and ensure a more comprehensive and sustainable clean energy strategy.”
PNE has already had an impact nationally and internationally, including:
- Developing a nuclear workforce capacity building model: The Tennessee Nuclear Energy Workforce Center (T-NEWC) was established as the first local/regional model to address the challenges of educating, training and development talent for the nuclear workforce. This innovative program, piloted in Tennessee, has since been scaled to other regions, including the Great Lakes region, Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Virginia. The model focuses on five key areas: people, pipeline development, process, physical infrastructure and planning. By addressing these critical aspects, the model aims to ensure a robust and skilled nuclear workforce to meet the growing demands of the industry.
- Identifying gaps and making recommendations for a stronger, national nuclear workforce strategy. PNE hosted a workshop in May 2024, attended by more than 90 stakeholders in the nuclear energy sector. The outcome of the workshops was the publication of 17 recommendations to address the needs of the nuclear energy industry, including promoting career awareness, coordinating workforce capacity-building efforts across all nuclear energy organizations and addressing competition from other workforce sectors.
- Developing an academic road map to build nuclear workforce capacity. PNE convened more than 220 stakeholders from K-12 schools, community colleges and four-year institutions in May 2024 for the first-ever meeting of the Nuclear Energy Academic Alliance. Through a series of workshops, the Alliance developed a comprehensive road map for nuclear workforce capacity-building that encompasses all levels of education. The result, to be published in 2025, provides “a clear road map to the entire nation on how to build career awareness, financial resources, pathways and curriculum development to reenergize and equip the potential workforce that will drive the nuclear renaissance,” Tobin said.
- Developing and strengthening international partnerships in nuclear energy education and training. PNE is leading partnerships with Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and new nuclear countries in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia to support development of national and international strategies in nuclear energy education and training. For example, PNE is leading an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency international nuclear energy education program in Paris, France. PNE is working with Japan and new nuclear energy countries focused on education, training and workforce capacity-building and is serving as a committee member and workshop leader for the Global Nuclear Energy Rising Stars Program in Germany.
The nuclear energy industry in the U.S. has its challenges. By bringing together key stakeholders, identifying gaps and making recommendations to fill them, the Partnership for Nuclear Energy hopes to strengthen the country’s global leadership in the nuclear energy sector.