Apprentices learn skills for the nuclear-power industry

Citation

(2008), "Apprentices learn skills for the nuclear-power industry", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 40 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2008.03740bab.008

Apprentices learn skills for the nuclear-power industry

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 40, Issue 2.

Apprentices learn skills for the nuclear-power industry

The TTE Technical Training Group and British Energy have recruited ten people, aged 16 to 23, to embark on a new apprenticeship program to provide engineering knowledge and experience that may help them to find permanent work at the Hartlepool Power Station.

British Energy, which employs around 500 people in Hartlepool, has worked closely with TTE over the past six months to devise the program. It has been designed both to equip the apprentices with practical understanding of the power station’s operations, and to give them respected qualifications.

The apprentices will undergo two years of off-the-job training at TTE. A further two years will be spent gaining practical experience of working in a range of departments at the power station. The apprentices will receive a bursary “wage”, which is part of British Energy’s philosophy of guiding the young people from full-time education to the world of work. In addition to providing important qualifications and skills, the apprenticeship route teaches important life skills such as time keeping and working as part of a team.

Stuart Crooks, station director at Hartlepool, said: “This is an exciting time to be joining British Energy, against the background of the energy white paper which is looking at a new future for nuclear power. Having the best youngsters, trained to the best possible standards, will be vital to our business as we go forward. The partnership developed between Hartlepool and TTE will deliver that, and maybe even deliver Hartlepool’s future station director.”

Meanwhile, the Cumbria office of White Young Green (WYG), consultant to the built, natural and social environment and a major player in the nuclear-decommissioning field, is working on a development that will provide education, training and business-support services for the nuclear industry.

With the nuclear industry accounting for some 25 percent of all employment in west Cumbria, the development of the Nuclear Academy at Lillyhall industrial estate, a dedicated center of excellence, is an important step forward in retraining existing workers and providing a wide range of training opportunities, apprenticeships, reskilling courses and foundation degrees.