The increased interest in nuclear energy combined with a nuclear workforce that is close to retirement has created a timely and critical need to educate a 21st century nuclear energy workforce at all employment levels. Specifically, over the next two decades a need is projected for more than 41,000 trained technicians in the nuclear industry. Current educational programs are not scaled to meet the forecast need. The purpose of this planning project is to develop the infrastructure for a National Center for Nuclear Energy Education and Training (NCNEET). The goal of the NCNEET is to make sure the demand for skilled nuclear technicians is met in a unified, systematic way. The main goals of the planning project are: 1. Identify and enlist faculty and representatives from businesses, the nuclear energy industry, nuclear agencies, and organizations to provide intellectual leadership for the center's various activities. 2. Study the specific technician needs of the nuclear power industry in the different regions of the country and establish educational strategies, priorities and timelines. 3. Build a coalition of colleges with established nuclear technician education facilities, infrastructure, and faculties. 4. Identify the specific discipline of focus for each partner college and their needs in the effort to scale up to become a center for education. 5. Develop a comprehensive plan showing an understanding of the workforce needs and the ability and readiness of NCNEET to meet these needs.
INTELLECTUAL MERIT NCNEET is directed by Indian River State College in conjunction with Miami Dade College, Linn State Technical College, and Salem Community College. These institutions have been involved in nuclear technician education for almost 30 years and have been recognized nationally for their excellent programs.
BROADER IMPACT By building a network of dynamic educational programs capable of scaling up to meet the energy industry's workforce needs, the NCNEET reduces the risk associated with serious shortages of technicians. In addition, the existence of the NCNEET can accelerate the implementation of new nuclear facilities. The project encourages participation by members of groups under-represented in the nuclear industry, especially women and members of ethnic minorities.
Thanks to growth, an aging workforce, international competition, and natural attrition the nuclear industry in the United States is experiencing unprecedented workforce demands. Specifically, over the next two decades, nuclear workforce needs will exceed 41,000 trained personnel. Current training platforms are not scaled to meet this need which puts both the industry and our nation at risk. An urgent initiative is needed to coordinate these training needs. To address these workforce demands in a unified, systematical way, IRSC submitted and was awarded a planning grant to plan of the National Center for Nuclear Energy Education and Training (NCNEET). During the planning stages of this grant, IRSC able to truly categorize the state of nuclear training across the nation, determine the strengths, and identify the critical gaps in nuclear pipelines. This effort allowed IRSC to identify the strongest college programs and to develop partnerships with them. In addition, IRSC was able to recruit key partners across industry, academia, government agencies, and other organizations to forma critical mass of trained experts to combat this need. All told IRSC formed over 60 partnerships with key personnel in industry including representatives from: Academic: Indian River State College, Midlands Technical College, North Carolina State University, Chattanooga State Community College, Central Virginia Community College, College of Southern Maryland, Miami Dade College, Augusta Technical College, Central Piedmont Community College, Aiken Technical College, University of Massachusetts; Lowell, and Linn State Technical College. Industry: Florida Power and Light, NextEra Energy, Tennessee Valley Authority, Westinghouse Training and Operation Services, Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics, General Physics, Progress Energy, ABET, SCANA, Southern Nuclear Company, Constellation Energy, and Bartlett Nuclear. Other: NSF, NEI, INPO, DOE, ORNL, and the U.S. Navy. The final proposal was submitted in February 2011. In August 2011, IRSC was awarded a $3.1 million Regional Center for Nuclear Education and Training (RCNET). It was determined to start with a Regional Center in the South Eastern United States where the workforce needs are the densest, thanks to the current construction of 4 new reactors (2 in Georgia and 2 in South Carolina). The mission of RCNET is to make sure the demand for skilled nuclear technicians is met in a unified, systematical way in the Southeastern United States. The 6 key goals of RCNET are: Provide comprehensive and standardized nuclear training materials. Make training materials easily available to everyone through the web and tablet platforms. Provide professional development to teachers and trainers on how to use the materials. Develop, create, launch, and market nuclear career pathways from kindergarten to graduate school. Provide live and/or remote access to unique and expensive training systems (such as NCSU’s nuclear reactor and Westinghouse’s full scale trainers, as seen in the Unique Training Systems image). Manage workforce supply and demand and help place graduates with jobs in the industry. To date, we have launched the center, hosted a kickoff meeting (with over 50 industry experts converging on South Florida), hired a coordinator, developed a project plan, assembled roadmap teams for each of the 6 key goals, aligned resource with INPO (Institute for Nuclear Power Operations), and presented to a group of 70 secondary teachers across the state of Florida. Together with these teachers, RCNET is developing hands on lessons plans to teach STEM skills through nuclear demonstration and activities. It is the goal of grant to replicate these activities at secondary institutions through the Southeastern United State in hopes of creating an economically and demographically diverse pool of excellent candidates. Why Nuclear Energy? Nuclear energy is the only existing technology that can simultaneously answer economical, geopolitical, and environmental issues. Specifically, nuclear energy is the cheapest (at 1.7 Cents/kWh, nuclear power is 29% cheaper than its closest competitor, which is coal) and largest steward of greenhouse gases, as shown in the Why Nuclear image. Nuclear energy is also the most reliable form of energy. In 2010, the capacity factor for nuclear energy was over 90%. This means that over 90% of the nuclear generating capacity was deployed. At fewer than 50% capacity factor, natural gas was the closest competitor.
