Response Paper - Essay Example

In this worrisome scenario, the news published in the Daily Mail that 100,000 jobs would be created by Britain's programme of building new nuclear power stations (Mcghie, Mail Online, 12th March 2011) should have brought immense cheer. But it does not do so. On the contrary, the subject is highly debatable. In the nuclear sector, it is both expensive and time consuming to train professionals with the right skills. Only a long-term approach could achieve this. However, in the Budget 2011, according to experts, the chancellor has not fully addressed the issue of skills development which is an important facilitator of growth in enterprise (Recruiter, 24 March 2011).

Effective policies to reduce unemployment invariably need to encourage the employability of the workforce so that the unemployed possess the right skills to avail of the new job opportunities. Also, a sustained period of economic growth is required to create new jobs, especially in the energy sector. Experience has shown that a growing economy creates fresh jobs and provides employment opportunities for the unemployed people. For instance, the period from 1993-2001 which saw sustained economic growth in the UK also was a period of significant increase in employment levels.

Therefore, in the current period of low economic growth in the UK, the claims made by Areva, the world's biggest reactor maker which is building four reactors for Electricite de France (EDF), two in Hinckley Point, Somerset, and two in Sizewell, Suffolk, and reported in the Daily Mail as referred above, of creation of substantial numbers of jobs does not sound true. Furthermore, Areva also predicts that British companies will be responsible for 80 per cent of the manufacturing work. But, in reality, due to non-availability of suitably trained personnel within the country, engineering and manufacturing organisations are often dependent on skilled hands brought in from overseas.

Efforts made now to spot and train the right talent will only start to provide the feedstock for the nuclear community 10 to 15 years hence. Besides, the time frame needed to plan, build and commission a new nuclear power generating facility is about 20 to 30 years. This is a much-too-long period to create jobs to fight current unemployment in Britain. According to BBC News, “Nuclear power stations currently generate 20% of UK electricity but they are nearly all facing decommission” (23 January 2006).

Which means that within the next 10 years, possibly only about 80% of the total electric power needed will be produced. According to EDF, the two proposed nuclear power plants at Hinkley Point C would be capable of supplying enough electricity for around five million homes. During construction, each new nuclear plant potentially provides an average of 1,400 to 1,800 jobs (the number is much higher during peak construction). And, once they are operational, the new power stations would support around 900 permanent direct jobs besides many more indirect jobs.

The permanent jobs are all highly skilled jobs consisting of reactor operators, radiation protection specialists, and nuclear, mechanical and electrical engineers (Nuclear Enery Institute, 2010). The important point to be noted is that the “demand is for people with the right skills to support both the construction and operation of the new generation of nuclear power stati