Apprentices help to future-proof Magnox
Magnox has recruited 34 new apprentices as part of plans to ensure it has the right people and skills available, at the right time, to deliver its ongoing decommissioning mission.
The plans form part of Magnox’s future mission strategy, which looks at building a better understanding of future work programmes within Magnox and the wider UK industry.
During the next ten years Magnox is projected to lose more than 40 per cent of its workforce to retirement, so steps are being taken now to ensure there are no skills gaps.
Mark Williams, Apprentice and Graduate Lead at Magnox, said:
We have a great deal of knowledge, skills and experience within Magnox and we need to ensure that can all be passed on. By recognising potential skills shortages and recruiting apprentices we are future-proofing and creating resilience within our business as part of effective succession planning.
Rhianna Watson, health physics apprentice at Winfrith Site, said:
Before I got this apprenticeship I was studying for a maths and physics degree with the Open University, while also trying to work full time as a medical lab assistant. I was getting disillusioned and felt that getting stuck into a job where I could ‘learn whilst doing’ was going to be more suited to me.
I can see a long-term future for myself at Magnox. It is such a breath of fresh air; everyone is so friendly and supportive. It’s also encouraging to know that there are opportunities within Magnox for me to progress. With the covid situation, so many of my friends’ plans are up in the air, but I feel like mine are just taking off.
Each of the apprentices will be splitting their time between one of Magnox’s four partner educational providers: National College for Nuclear, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Coleg Menai and JTL, while also gaining hands-on experience at sites.
Paul Goss, Head of National College for Nuclear, said:
We are very proud of the strong partnership Bridgwater & Taunton College and National College for Nuclear have developed with Magnox over many years with their workforce skills planning.
We are particularly pleased with the most recent collaboration to develop their Nuclear Operative and MOET Apprenticeship programmes to support Magnox’s future workforce, enabling them to continue the critical work they provide for the nuclear sector.
Magnox’s apprentices are an example of the drive to attract the next generation of nuclear workers across the entire NDA group.
Cleaning up the UK’s earliest nuclear sites requires talent and skills for decades to come. Providing opportunities for apprentices and graduates is fundamental in securing the necessary skills to deliver the mission.
Jacq Longrigg, Group Head of Capability and Capacity at the NDA, said:
Apprentice recruitment and development is fundamental to delivering our mission and a crucial element of our early careers strategy. It’s vital we have a pipeline of talented and skilled individuals at the right point in time.
The NDA group has a rich tradition in supporting apprenticeships and a great number of our business and technical leaders began their careers as apprentices on one of our 17 sites. This is a tradition we want to continue.