New report explores nuclear labor demands and opportunities
– By Jack Bryar –
A new report from the Korn/Ferry Institute examines new opportunities and new challenges that confront the nuclear industry as its worldwide renaissance accelerates. Some of the most important questions facing organizations throughout the nuclear supply chain involve resource constraints. These issues, which boil down to steel, technology and people, will obstruct the nuclear industry’s resurgence if they are not properly addressed.
The nuclear industry, which has witnessed the pool of new engineering talent slow to a trickle due to the lack of attractive and/or abundant career prospects in the industry until only recently.
“In order to deliver on the high potential for the industry, we have to recognize that the sector is not at the strongest point right now,” notes Duncan Hawthorne, President and CEO of Bruce Power, Canada’s first private nuclear generating company and the source of more than 20 percent of Ontario’s electricity. “[The industry has] a vulnerable supply chain, gaps in the demographics of the industry and we are challenged by our capacity to recruit and grow people … talent is the limiting factor. We can always manage the technical issues but if we don’t have the leadership or skill sets, no organization can move forward.”
The nuclear industry’s new era of significant growth will be challenged by constraints to its talent supply, including leadership talent, and supply chain constraints.
Addressing these constraints requires a blend of long-term and short-term approaches, including partnerships that help sustain the future talent supply; internal leadership development programs; new retention and knowledge transfer approaches; and external talent sourcing that addresses immediate talent needs.
A comprehensive leadership development program should employ a rigorous, evidence-based approach to identifying and cultivating next-generation executives.
Innovative external sourcing practices are emerging, including hiring global expertise; targeting other industries with similar demands for select positions; and pursuing project sourcing arrangements.