News: Local providers step up to fusion skills challenge
The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) have announced a new twenty-year collaboration to advance fusion energy training and skills development.
UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise scientific and economic benefit. The Authority selected the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham as a location for its £22m, 25,000 sq ft fusion energy research facility that opened in 2021.
The collaboration will focus on developing and delivering fusion related skills, including apprenticeships and wider vocational training programmes, to support the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) project – the UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant that will be built on the West Burton site in Nottinghamshire.
This new collaboration will not only provide crucial skills for STEP but also support a growing fusion industry across the region.
The collaboration will deliver fusion-relevant courses through existing training sites across the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, and Greater Lincolnshire. Colleges, training providers, and universities are already mobilising to offer more places for construction and clean energy qualifications, gearing up the region to deliver on its emerging inclusive growth strategy even before the West Burton facility is in place.
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UKAEA’s Head of Fusion Skills and FOSTER (Fusion, Opportunities, Skills, Training, Education and Research) Programme Director, Nick Walkden, said: “People are the most important element of any programme or project. We have listened and learned from other major research, engineering, and infrastructure projects and believe that an early and focussed attention to local skills and workforce growth will be a critical enabler to success.
“STEP is a programme with global impact and, as with the successive Governments who have recognised fusion’s potential to have a significant and positive impact on the nation’s economy, we are equally committed to leaving a lasting local legacy. The training provided will equip people across the East Midlands, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire with the skills needed for the prototype fusion powerplant at West Burton as well as long-term career opportunities in fusion and beyond.”
Jason Austin, CEO & Principal of the RNN Group, which has facilities in Rotherham and North Nottinghamshire, added: “This collaboration marks a once-in-a-generation opportunity to align education with the future of clean energy. As a local education leader, I’m proud that our institutions will be at the heart of delivering the skills needed for the UK’s first prototype fusion power plant.
"From advanced engineering to cutting-edge construction training, we’re preparing our learners not just for jobs – but for meaningful careers in a globally significant industry. This partnership ensures our region’s young people and adult learners alike have a direct pathway into the green economy of tomorrow.”
UKAEA website
Images: RNN Group
UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise scientific and economic benefit. The Authority selected the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham as a location for its £22m, 25,000 sq ft fusion energy research facility that opened in 2021.
The collaboration will focus on developing and delivering fusion related skills, including apprenticeships and wider vocational training programmes, to support the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) project – the UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant that will be built on the West Burton site in Nottinghamshire.
This new collaboration will not only provide crucial skills for STEP but also support a growing fusion industry across the region.
The collaboration will deliver fusion-relevant courses through existing training sites across the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, and Greater Lincolnshire. Colleges, training providers, and universities are already mobilising to offer more places for construction and clean energy qualifications, gearing up the region to deliver on its emerging inclusive growth strategy even before the West Burton facility is in place.
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UKAEA’s Head of Fusion Skills and FOSTER (Fusion, Opportunities, Skills, Training, Education and Research) Programme Director, Nick Walkden, said: “People are the most important element of any programme or project. We have listened and learned from other major research, engineering, and infrastructure projects and believe that an early and focussed attention to local skills and workforce growth will be a critical enabler to success.
“STEP is a programme with global impact and, as with the successive Governments who have recognised fusion’s potential to have a significant and positive impact on the nation’s economy, we are equally committed to leaving a lasting local legacy. The training provided will equip people across the East Midlands, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire with the skills needed for the prototype fusion powerplant at West Burton as well as long-term career opportunities in fusion and beyond.”
Jason Austin, CEO & Principal of the RNN Group, which has facilities in Rotherham and North Nottinghamshire, added: “This collaboration marks a once-in-a-generation opportunity to align education with the future of clean energy. As a local education leader, I’m proud that our institutions will be at the heart of delivering the skills needed for the UK’s first prototype fusion power plant.
"From advanced engineering to cutting-edge construction training, we’re preparing our learners not just for jobs – but for meaningful careers in a globally significant industry. This partnership ensures our region’s young people and adult learners alike have a direct pathway into the green economy of tomorrow.”
UKAEA website
Images: RNN Group
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