The nuclear power industry is seeking to lure back thousands of retired engineers and older professionals
as western companies try to fill a skills gap to deliver the biggest wave of new projects in decades.
Reactor constructors are aiming to hire tens of thousands of employees as climate change concerns drive a revived interest in the low-carbon technology, according to developers and government officials
The skills shortage has been partly driven by the retirement of a wave of baby boomers. Of the 60,000 extra full time hires in core nuclear jobs that will be needed in France by 2033, according to French trade body Gifen, half will be required simply to replace people leaving the industry.
Experconnect, an agency that specialises in placing retirees, said it had 1,600 ex-nuclear workers, from scientists to welders, on its books. “Demand has really grown,” said Marie-Pierre de Montessus, an energy expert at the agency.
“With the nuclear winter we experienced, there were no investments and hiring was frozen. We now go and see the big companies and show them that the skills of retirees are worth their weight in gold.”
The phenomenon, including where workers are being asked to stay on as consultants, is not confined to Europe. “You are seeing people stay in the nuclear game longer. I see a lot of people retiring who are not retiring,” said Craig Piercy, chief executive of the American Nuclear Society, which represents scientists, engineers and other professionals.
Describing a “silver tsunami”, Piercy said the average age of ANU members was 51. Industry figures say the hiring challenge could be eased as the emissions-free profile of nuclear power attracts a younger cohort concerned about climate change.
“Gen Z’s generational issue is climate change and I find that most young people are very open to talking about nuclear energy,” 22-year-old Grace Stanke, a nuclear engineer who was crowned Miss America 2023, said in an interview.
Stanke, who was dubbed “a real life Barbenheimer” by US media for her advocacy work in the sector, added that she aimed to boost the image of the profession among young people by showing engineers could “approachable, social, funny and ready to take on the world’s challenges”.
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