Next generation of nuclear power workers get chance to light up their future career

To mark the recent launch of Great British Nuclear - the government’s plan to expand the nuclear power sector nationwide - South Ribble MP Katherine Fletcher is searching for a group of 18-25-year-olds from her constituency to join her at an industry event at Westminster next month.

There, they will get the chance to discuss apprenticeships and make contacts with the companies and individuals leading the nuclear charge.

First, however, they will need to prove that their interest in nuclear power has truly been sparked by setting out, in 500 words, what they think Great British Nuclear means for Lancashire and the North West Nuclear Arc (NWNA), within which the county sits.

The NWNA is a cluster of nuclear sector businesses – running from Cumbria down to North Wales - which incorporates all the facilities required throughout the nuclear lifecycle, from fuels and energy production to the management of waste and decommissioning.

The government wants a quarter of the UK's energy needs to be met by nuclear by 2050.

Katherine Fletcher told the Lancashire Post: “The facts are clear - net zero needs nuclear - and the opportunity for well-paid careers is enormous for everyone across South Ribble.

“Nuclear is the UK’s only proven source of clean energy that is available 24/7, powering 12 million homes, whatever the weather. It has kept Britain’s lights on for generations, producing more clean power and saving more emissions than any other energy source - and sustaining over 60,000 green jobs today.

“There will be a variety of events held at the Palace of Westminster on 12th September to celebrate the nuclear industry and I would be delighted to welcome a number of successful entries for a chance to see the opportunities that nuclear presents for their future, as my guest.”

Entrants must live in the South Ribble constituency, which is not entirely contiguous with the council area of the same name and excludes the easternmost areas of the borough, like Farngton, Bamber Bridge, Walton-le-Dale and Samlesbury - but includes some parts of Chorley, around Croston and Mawdesley, along with West Lancashire’s northern parishes.

To find out which constituency an address falls within, visit members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

Entries must be received by 25th August and should be emailed to: [email protected]

Winners will be notified two days later.

‘BANNERS WON'T SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS - NUCLEAR WILL’

A Chorley councillor who sits on the borough’s climate change advisory group says that the nuclear industry holds the key to net zero targets being achieved - locally and nationally.

Encouraging young people to make a bid to attend the Westminster nuclear event next month, Craige Southern said that the 18-25-year-old age group is perfectly placed to reap the job opportunities that he believes the sector will generate in the years to come.

“I think small-scale nuclear reactors are the ones we need to focus on bringing online. Sizewell C [a huge new nuclear power station to be built in Suffolk] is a great project, but it will take a long time to come to fruition.

“If we're looking to get to net zero, [nuclear] is the way we should be going, because we're not going to solve [the problem] by running around with banners. We'll solve it through technology and innovation.

“The things we're doing with with wind and solar are fantastic. But ultimately, if you want long-term sustainability in terms of homegrown power, this is what we need.

“From our perspective in the North West, we have obviously been doing nuclear for a good few years with Sellafield. But what the North West Nuclear Arc gives you is well-paid sustainable, high-tech jobs.

“I think Katherine Fletcher’s competition is a great opportunity for local kids to go and pitch [themselves],” added Cllr Southern, a fellow Conservative, whose Croston Mawdesley and Euxton South ward in Chorley is within th eSouth Ribble parliamentary constituency, makign hiks young residents eligible to enter.