The UK’s nuclear industry has reached a record high, with 98,173 people now employed across the sector, according to the Nuclear Industry Association’s annual Jobs Map, the sector’s major jobs report.
Key takeaways:
- Government investment in Sizewell C and Rolls-Royce SMR fuels 11,000 new jobs in a year, making Britain one of Europe’s largest nuclear workforces.
- Nuclear jobs rise 55% in a decade, driven by major new projects.
- Sizewell C set to repeat the success of Hinkley Point C in creating tens of thousands of jobs across the country.
The figure represents an 11,000 increase on last year’s total and a 55% surge over the past decade, driven by £14.2bn of additional government investment in Sizewell C, £2.5bn for SMRs, and major ongoing decommissioning programmes.
Hinkley Point C, Europe’s biggest clean energy project, has tripled the South West’s nuclear workforce—from 8,200 in 2015 to over 31,000 today—making it the country’s largest nuclear hub. The project has also brought £5.3bn of investment into the region, with the benefits soon to be replicated by Sizewell C in Suffolk, which will support 70,000 jobs across the country.
Decommissioning continues to generate high-quality jobs and investment in communities from Dounreay at the northern tip of Scotland to Dungeness and Winfrith on the south coast. The North West, is the centre of this work, with Sellafield’s 12,000 employees, as well as wider work in the fuel cycle, reactor design, and research.
In Wales, where a decision has yet to be made on the future of Wylfa, the nuclear workforce stands at close to 1,000 jobs, up 17% on last year, thanks largely to new business driven by Sizewell C, but numbers are down a third versus a decade ago. In Scotland, the sector grew slightly to 5,413 jobs, representing the smallest regional growth (5%) due to a lack of new projects.
Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “Record government investment in nuclear is driving an industrial revival, creating thousands of long-term, high-value jobs and boosting the UK’s energy security. Projects like Sizewell C and the SMR programme show what can be achieved when government and industry work together. The next step is to build on this momentum: a clear pipeline of follow-on projects will lock in skills and investment, secure our energy future, and drive prosperity across the UK.”
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