Nuclear Power Recruitment and Workforce Solutions

Airswift are a leading workforce solutions provider to the nuclear power sector

Climate change is front and centre of the global political landscape, and many are pointing to nuclear’s potential in the fight against global warming.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Climate Change and Nuclear Power 2018 report says it best: ‘Nuclear power can make an important contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while delivering energy in the increasingly large quantities needed for global economic development.’

And the nuclear projects appearing around the world suggests people in power are listening. The World Nuclear Association (WNA) reported in July ’19 that approximately 450 of the world’s nuclear power plants generated 10% of the planet’s electricity in 2017.

It also reports that 50 plants are currently being constructed – otherwise known as Nuclear New Builds (NNB) – in 15 countries including China, India, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. These represent significant global investment in the nuclear sector; four plants in the Barakah are set to cost $20 billion alone, highlighting the scale and ambition of these new nuclear builds.

The future for the nuclear sector looks incredibly healthy too, with more than 100 new nuclear reactors on order or planned, and 300 more proposed according to the WNA. Most reactor projects are currently planned for Asia, making it a prime target destination for energy companies to relocate to start new developments.

For those projects to be successful though, energy companies need to have an intricate nuclear power plant recruitment strategy to make sure projects are delivered on time and without going over budget. That could be harder than they think, though.

The impending talent crisis facing the nuclear sector

The Global Energy Talent Index report 2019 (GETI), created by Airswift and Energy Jobline, which attracted 17,000 respondents from 162 countries and 150 nationalities who all work in the energy sector, highlights the specific problems energy companies are facing when it comes to nuclear power plant recruitment.

Roles in the nuclear sector are already notoriously tough to fill due to the extremely technical specifications needed to be involved in a project. Ideally, the right nuclear power plant recruitment strategy needs to find the best in young talent, as GETI underlines that nearly a third of nuclear professional are aged 55 and over.

So, with great nuclear talent in already in short supply, it’s alarming to see that 37% of respondents believe they’ve already been hit by a talent shortage, with 31% quite worried about its impact. The regions most impacted by the shortage according to GETI were respondents in North and South America, and Africa.

Political factors are also playing their part too. For example, nuclear companies in the UK hire a lot of their workforce from the European Union. Hannah Peet, Managing Director at Energy Jobline, comments in GETI: “Naturally, hiring managers are worried about whether Brexit will squeeze their flow of talent. And professionals working in the UK are concerned about their ability to remained employed in the country.”

The benefits of working with a nuclear power recruitment specialist

Airswift has been working with energy companies and those in the infrastructure and process industries for more than 40 years to totally transform their recruitment strategies and find them the absolute best talent, wherever in the world their project is based.

Airswift manages more than 7,000 contractors and our 800 employees range from 70 nations. We work with the world’s largest energy firms, EPCs, equipment manufacturers, technology companies and others across numerous sectors.

That includes the nuclear sector. Our nuclear power recruitment specialists work extremely hard to staff nuclear projects with the right people. Like other energy sectors, nuclear is a safety-critical industry and highly-regulated, and we strive to find the absolute best nuclear operatives and engineers that will fit seamlessly into your nuclear project, NNB, existing site or otherwise.

The Airswift team is passionate about the workforce solutions we provide and we are proud of our 96% contractor satisfaction rating. Our coverage is truly international, with 60 interconnected recruitment offices in multiple global regions complemented by three super hubs in Manchester, UK, Singapore and Houston, Texas.

The Airswift team is here to help you find the absolute best staff for your nuclear energy project, wherever in the world it needs to be managed.

Providing leading nuclear power recruitment solutions for complex energy projects

As nuclear energy projects are extremely technical and complex, and require employees with a tremendous amount of skill to action, it’s absolutely essential that you get the right people for the job each and every time.

Our team of workforce solutions experts will find those nuclear contractors and employees, and help you solve other workforce challenges through:

• Talent Acquisition
• Global Employment and Mobility
• Executive and Board Search
• Consulting
• Managed Solutions

Talent acquisition and recruitment

Our talent acquisition services include:

• Screening qualified potential candidates
• Retained search and headhunter services 
• Mass hire, manpower supply and labour outsourcing
• Contingent staffing and contractor management
• Direct Hire and permanent recruitment
• Executive and board search

Global employment and mobility

Our global employment and mobility services include:

• Global immigration and visa services
• Mobilisation and logistics services
• Relocation management
• Payroll and taxation services
• Global Employment Outsourcing (GEO)

Managed solutions and recruitment outsourcing solutions (RPO solutions)

Our managed solutions include:

• Full life cycle recruitment support
• Supplier performance tracking
• Onsite support
• Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO)
• Transition services of incumbent contingent workers

Consulting: talent mapping, benchmarking and strategy development 

Our consulting services include:

• Talent mapping
• Salary and market rate benchmarking
• Identification and delivery of cost savings
• Skills assessment
• Strategic workforce planning
• Performance and risk management advice

The Global Energy Talent Index (GETI)

Every year, Airswift co-produce an annual employment trends and benchmarking report.

GETI is a consultancy report for managers and professionals in the energy sector. The report focuses on oil and gas, renewables, power, nuclear and petrochemicals.