The French nuclear sector has made a desperate appeal for new workers, as it states it hopes to recruit 10,000-15,000 people per year until 2030.
Representatives of the industry say that they are currently struggling to find enough workers to both maintain the existing power stations in France as well as carry out projects to construct new reactors.
In February French President Emmanuel Macron presented a roadmap for the nuclear industry which included the construction of six new EPRs (nuclear reactors), with the potential for a further eight more on top of that. However, according to Le Monde, the national energy provider EDF has said that this would require a minimum of 10,000 – 15,000 workers to achieve, compared to the 5,000 who worked annually for the company between 2019 and 2022.
Alain Tranzer, the general delegate for industrial quality and nuclear skills at EDF, has therefore described that there is a “major challenge to attract, train, recruit and accelerate the experience and skills of new entrants”.
In order to find these new workers, GIFEN, a group which brings together over 270 organisations involved in the nuclear industry, has announced the creation of a new recruitment program called “Match”. The aim of the program will be to match the needs and resources of the sector in more than 80 professions.
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