Insight Web Extra
Summer 2011—Baby-boomers have rocked society throughout their lives, their sheer numbers crowding schools, bursting on the work force and reconfiguring the milestone age of 50 as “the new 40.” Now the maturing “boomer” generation is poised to cause yet another upheaval in society, as large numbers of them retire from the workplace. The electric power industry alone will have to replace nearly 100,000 skilled workers—more than 25,000 of them in the nuclear industry—by 2015, a fact that is driving industry partnerships with educational institutions and spurred creation of the
Get Into Energy website.
Over the next five years, approximately 38 percent of workers in the electric power industry will be eligible to retire. “The average age of our work force is 49 or 50, so we’re looking at a significant number of retirements in the next several years,” said Angel Garcia, manager of work force education at Southern California Edison Co. (SCE), which operates the
San Onofre nuclear power plant. As daunting as the numbers are, finding applicants with the right skill sets can be even harder. With fewer potential new hires available from the nuclear Navy, he said, “there aren’t a whole lot of people lined up for jobs that have the skills we need.”
As part of recruitment efforts, SCE and many other companies are working closely with educational institutions to identify the specific skills the industry needs and to encourage students to consider careers in nuclear energy. The industry supports partnerships with 36 community colleges and more than 30 nuclear engineering programs to educate the next generation of workers.
Those efforts are starting to bear fruit. Nuclear-related programs at two-year educational institutions are filling to capacity, and university nuclear engineering programs are attracting students again after years of declining enrollments. In 2009, the latest year for which data are available, there were 2,800 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate nuclear engineering programs. It was the highest number of students reported since the mid-1980s, according to the
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.
“When students saw the number of retirements coming up in the nuclear industry and the chance for new plant construction, interest in nuclear energy started to grow,” said Audeen Fentiman, professor of nuclear engineering and associate dean of graduate education and interdisciplinary programs at Purdue University. “There is work in designing new reactors, improving nuclear fuel and developing new methods for disposing of used fuel,” Fentiman said. “There are many types of jobs now for nuclear engineers that didn’t exist before,” she said. Other students are drawn to potential careers in environmental protection and homeland security, both with connections to the nuclear energy industry.
In the mid-2000s, the electric power industry started looking closely at projected work force needs and comparing the projections with enrollments in several engineering and skilled craft disciplines. Seeing a common need to recruit talent on a large scale, companies and other organizations joined to establish the
Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD). In a related effort, they launched the
Get Into Energy website to provide information on what various energy career paths are like, their educational requirements and earnings potential. Some of the information is targeted to students looking ahead to their first jobs, while other sections discuss opportunities for experienced workers seeking to transition from military careers or other industries.
The “graying” of the nuclear energy industry comes at a time when the electric power sector is developing new nuclear plants to meet increased electricity demand and to replace some of the older fossil-fueled plants.
Although the recession has dampened electricity demand temporarily, it continues to rise. The nation currently has about 1,000 gigawatts of capacity, and the Energy Information Administration assumes 1 percent annual growth in electricity demand in its latest forecast—below historical trends. But even that produces a need for 220 gigawatts of new electric generating capacity by 2035. Some of the older power plants, especially coal-fired facilities, are likely to retire by that time. A recent study by the Brattle Group estimates that 50 to 65 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants will retire by 2020.
To keep pace with expansion, new workers are needed to support replacements for retiring workers and upcoming growth like the completion of Watts Bar Unit 2 and construction of new reactors.
Most of the nation’s 104 nuclear power plants are expected to continue operating well into the future. The NRC has renewed the operating licenses for 63 reactors, approving their operation for an additional 20 years beyond the initial 40-year license term, and applications to renew the operating licenses of another 21 reactors are pending. The industry now is working to define the requirements for a second renewal period that could allow operation beyond 60 years.
The industry also is developing new nuclear plants, with four to eight new reactors expected to come on line in the 2016 to 2020 time frame, said Marvin Fertel said, president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute. There are 12 applications to license new nuclear power plants under active review at the NRC. Southern Nuclear anticipates putting
two new reactors into service at its Vogtle nuclear plant site in Georgia in 2016 and 2017.
South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) is building two reactors at its V.C. Summer nuclear plant site, with anticipated startup dates of 2016 and 2019.
COMPANIES HELP DEVELOP THE FUTURE WORK FORCE “With the nuclear revival happening in the Southeast, we have to consider the availability of a qualified work force to construct and operate our new nuclear units,” said Steve Byrne, executive vice president for generation and transmission and chief operating officer at SCE&G. Fortunately, the region has a strong technical college system, and two state universities started nuclear engineering programs, Byrne said.
South Carolina State University has an undergraduate nuclear program, while the
University of South Carolina has a graduate program. SCE&G and parent company SCANA Corp. are working with
Midlands Technical College on a program to train potential nuclear plant operators.
Progress Energy is another company committed to expanding its nuclear generating portfolio, said Bill Johnson, chairman, president and CEO. Progress Energy announced plans in 2006 to build new reactors in North Carolina and Florida. Since then, the economic downturn has “dampened electricity demand, made investors increasingly risk-averse and diverted attention from global climate change,” Johnson said. Progress has pushed the date for the new reactors to start operating to after 2020. Long-term, however, electricity demand is projected to grow 30 percent by 2035. “Despite the sea change of events in the last five years, the underlying need for a secure, clean and affordable energy supply is stronger than ever,” Johnson said.
Progress operates a diverse portfolio of generating facilities, including five nuclear reactors at four sites. Nuclear plants generated one-third of the company’s electricity in 2010. In January, Progress Energy announced a proposed merger with Duke Energy, which will give the combined company 12 reactors at seven sites.
The development of new nuclear plants is spurring job creation at supply-chain companies, including engineering, construction and manufacturing. For example,
Shaw Modular Solutions completed construction in 2010 on a 410,000-square-foot facility in Lake Charles, La., to assemble structural, piping, equipment and other modules for new nuclear plants. The facility will employ between 700 and 1,400 workers at full capacity. In Newport News, Va., AREVA and Newport News Shipbuilding
broke ground in 2009 on a 330,000-square-foot facility that will manufacture heavy components such as reactor vessels, steam generators and pressurizers. The facility will employ approximately 350 workers.
Alstom opened a new manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 2010 for steam turbines, gas turbines and related equipment. The project is expected to create about 350 jobs.
The resurgence of nuclear energy also is creating jobs at fuel-cycle facilities. URENCO USA/LES began commercial operation at its new uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico
last June. Construction will continue until the facility reaches full capacity sometime in 2016. The project will provide more than 300 full-time and contract
jobs and another 700 to 800 multi-year construction jobs. AREVA is pursuing a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate the
Eagle Rock Enrichment Plant in Idaho, which will employ about 350 workers. The NRC completed its environmental review in February, concluding that there are no significant environmental impacts that would prevent it from licensing the facility. Construction could begin this year, with operations starting around 2014.
TWO-YEAR EDUCATION PROGRAMS PROVIDE JOB TRAINING Almost all jobs in the nuclear energy industry require some type of post-secondary education. Depending on the job, it may be a two-year or four-year degree or a skilled craft apprenticeship program. Any of these educational credentials can provide pathways to well-paying jobs.
A February
report from Harvard’s Pathways to Prosperity Project highlights the value of two-year educational programs in preparing students for careers. “The ‘college for all’ rhetoric that has been so much a part of the current education reform movement needs to be significantly broadened to become a ‘post-high-school credential for all,’” the report says. The project also recommends getting the nation’s employers more involved in the education system, said Bill Symonds, director of the Pathways to Prosperity Project, in a Harvard EdCast. Regional programs are especially important because they provide more opportunity to involve leaders from the education, business, nonprofit and government sectors, he said. He added, “They’re closer to what the economic opportunities are—the industries that are emerging and the ones that are most promising for young people.”
The nuclear energy industry has implemented such a program, partnering selected two-year educational institutions with companies in the nuclear industry to prepare young people for jobs as technicians in maintenance, chemistry and radiation protection and as non-licensed operators. Part of the project involved developing a nationally recognized nuclear uniform curriculum guide that specifies the learning objectives required in each of these fields. The curriculum guide was developed by the industry and maintained by the National Academy for Nuclear Training, the organization that accredits the industry’s training programs.
“Industry partners work with two-year educational institutions to choose one or more specialties, said Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides, manager of industry infrastructure at the Nuclear Energy Institute and president of
North American Young Generation in Nuclear. Companies have partnered with 36 schools around the country. “The goal is to prepare graduates to enter nuclear industry jobs with the knowledge and skills to operate the plant safely,” McAndrew-Benavides said. She added that the companies are working with the schools to align the number of graduates these programs turn out and the jobs available to them when they complete their training.
The industry’s investment in partnerships with the educational community is paying off, raising both the level of interest in nuclear industry careers and the qualifications of job applicants. “Companies that work with secondary and postsecondary institutions to develop programs tailored to the industry … report significant increases in the pass rate for pre-employment tests,” according to a 2009 Center for Energy Workforce Development
survey.
Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) is partnering with
MiraCosta College, a public college serving northern San Diego County. The school has developed
two-year associate degree programs for radiation protection technicians and non-licensed nuclear plant operators using the industry-developed uniform curricula.
“We have a very popular program. Our classes are filled to capacity,” said Elizabeth Gary, work force coordinator at SCE. The school fully implemented the programs in 2010, and the first class will graduate in 2012. The students are in their second semester now and will have internships with SCE in the summer, she said.
“We expect that the program will be a hiring path into our utility,” SCE’s Garcia said. “The graduates will be more familiar with the requirements of working at a nuclear power plant. They will have a reduced need for in-house training, so the program will help us out a lot in that regard.” SCE currently is working with MiraCosta College to develop a program for maintenance technicians that will open in a year or two.
SCANA Corp. formed a partnership with Midlands Technical College to develop candidates for operator positions for two existing reactors at the V.C. Summer plant and the two new reactors that are in the early phase of construction.
“When we looked at the demographics of our aging work force at V.C. Summer and at what we would need to staff the two additional units, we identified four critical job groups: operators, health physics technicians, engineers and maintenance craft technicians,” said Scott Macfarland, manager of work force planning. “We then identified schools that could provide talent into a pipeline for each critical job group.” Midlands Tech was an obvious choice. “They have a reputation for academic excellence and for producing well-trained workers,” he said, adding that SCANA has had a long-term working relationship with the school.
Working together, SCANA and Midlands Tech developed the nuclear systems technology associates degree program for potential nuclear plant operators. All the nuclear-specific courses were new to the school and had to be developed from the ground up using the
Nuclear Uniform Curriculum Program. The program graduated its first class last August and has more than 100 students enrolled. The next step, Macfarland said, is to verify that the school follows the curriculum’s requirements and issue industry-recognized credentials to the graduates. The company expects that to be completed this spring.
While there is no guarantee that all students in the program will find jobs with SCANA, Macfarland said, “the company has a vested interest in the Midlands program and always looks for the top grads as good candidates.” The summer intern program helps with that selection. During a five-week internship, the students gain experience with shift work, firefighting, drug and alcohol screening, and participate in evaluations in the reactor control room simulator. “The students get to see firsthand what is expected of an operator, and we get a good look at them as a fit for the organization,” Macfarland said.
Because the coursework is based on the nuclear uniform curriculum, what the students learn at Midlands Tech is applicable to any nuclear plant. “I contacted my counterparts at other utilities in the Southeast, and they are interested in graduates,” Macfarland said. “In fact, two people from the program have been hired at other utilities.”
In addition to technicians and skilled craft workers, the nuclear energy industry employs engineers with diverse specialties, including nuclear, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering. Nuclear engineering programs at U.S. universities had healthy enrollment levels during the big wave of nuclear plant construction in the 1960s through 1980s. When the building stopped and the nuclear industry’s future seemed uncertain, enrollments dropped and some university programs closed.
The resurgence of nuclear energy has reversed that trend. In 2009, undergraduate enrollments in nuclear engineering were up 15 over the 2008 level, according to a
survey of 32 academic institutions conducted by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). Although 13 percent fewer Bachelor of Science degrees were issued that year, after five consecutive years of increases, ORISE said growth in the number of nuclear engineering graduates is likely, given the increased enrollments. It’s a lucrative field. The average annual salary for a
nuclear engineer is $89,860, according to CEWD.
For undergraduates in nuclear engineering at Purdue, “we have a very robust co-op program,” Fentiman said. Around their sophomore year, students spend a semester at a company, working in the field they are studying. Some go to electric power companies, while others go to non-utility companies or national labs.
“The program gives students the opportunity to put what they’ve learned in the classroom to use in the field,” Fentiman said. Students get paid for that time, so it helps pay for their schooling—and typically, they have jobs lined up by the time they graduate. “Most companies will hire co-op students after graduation, if they’ve been happy with them.”
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts a favorable job outlook in the energy industry. While total employment is projected to remain fairly stable over the next decade, the imminent retirement of thousands of baby boomers will create plenty of opportunities for those with the right skills. And BLS says there is more good news for jobseekers: The energy industry pays better wages than many other industries.
President Obama’s call for greater use of clean energy sources during his State of the Union address will help support the growth of jobs throughout the energy sector: “Tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal. By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all.”
—Read more articles in Nuclear Energy Insight and Insight Web Extra.