British Energy opens �3.5 million nuclear-power “academy”

Citation

(2008), "British Energy opens �3.5 million nuclear-power “academy”", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 40 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2008.03740gab.001

British Energy opens �3.5 million nuclear-power “academy”

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 40, Issue 7

British Energy has opened a £3.5 million nuclear-power “academy” that will provide courses in nuclear technology and technical leadership to both new and experienced nuclear specialists in the company.

The center, in Barnwood, Gloucestershire, UK, will run more than 80 courses with a throughput of around 2,500 people a year. Each of British Energy’s stations also has its own training facilities for site-specific work.

The academy includes nuclear-power station control-room simulators, three workshops purpose built for control and instrumentation, electrical and mechanical training, a new learning center for all site inductions and 40 in-house instructors.

British Energy has introduced its own accreditation system for employee training. The system is based on that used by Institute of Nuclear Power Operators and incorporates best practice in the nuclear industry.

Commenting on the opening, Sir John Beddington, the British Government’s chief scientific adviser and head of the Government Office for Science, said: “Nuclear technologies offer us an option to generate sustainable, low-carbon-emission electricity and so clearly have a role to play in our fight to mitigate the effects of climate change. Now that the Government has invited applications for new nuclear build, initiatives like this will play a crucial role in ensuring that we are able to skill up our workforce to the high level required.”

Sir Adrian Montague, British Energy chairman, said: “We are committed to developing British Energy’s employees and to creating a world-leading group of nuclear professionals. The academy is at the center of British Energy’s investment in training. Building the technical capability of our workforce is essential as the UK begins to expand the role of nuclear as part of a balanced energy policy.”

British Energy’s Barnwood center employs some 2,000 people who support the operation of the company’s nuclear-power stations. The company owns and operates seven advanced gas-cooled power stations (AGR) and the only pressurized-water power station in the UK – Sizewell B, in Suffolk. The company also operates Eggborough Power Station in Yorkshire and has interest in a number of renewable projects.