Nuclear Island skills project gets funding go-ahead

An employer-backed Nuclear Island skills project is being moved to the next stage following a successful funding bid by Cogent and Imperial College London to the National HE STEM programme.

This will see the immediate development of a Nuclear Island module developed in partnership with Imperial College London in association with universities across England and Wales. A trial will take place in June, with a view to roll out next Spring.

The Nuclear Island itself will be a nationally available New Build experience for STEM students, and will engage a wide range of partners across the UK, including the National Skills Academy Nuclear, ECITB, Construction Skills and professional bodies. The Island will also establish partnerships between employers with Higher and Further Education Institutes to tackle the critical future higher level workforce needs of nuclear new build.

The Nuclear Island will become an integral part of a number of UK STEM undergraduate courses. For the first time, nuclear safety culture would be an essential part of construction engineering courses, embedding critical safety behaviours from day one.

The project is being run through collaboration between Imperial College London, Cogent SSC, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Constructionarium, ECITB, and Construction Skills.

To get involved, please contact: Dr Caroline Sudworth caroline.sudworth@cogent-ssc.com.