Nuclear workforce passes a hundred thousand across sectors

The combined civil and defence nuclear sector grew from 83,000 people in 2023 to over 100,000 in 2025, according to early indications from the latest Nuclear Workforce Assessment set out in the annual update to Parliament published this week.

Within that, the Defence Nuclear Enterprise employs over 47,000, with demand expected to grow to around 65,000 by 2030. Organisations signed up to the Nuclear Skills Plan have recruited over 2,000 graduates and over 4,000 apprentices in the first two years of its operation, of whom around 1,300 graduates and around 3,100 apprentices were in defence nuclear.

A joint investment by the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will create over 500 PhD positions across eight years, with the first starting this autumn, which the update says will help develop a new generation of experts to push the boundaries of nuclear science.

Eight indirect intervention contracts are being mobilised to support mid-career switchers, improve cross-sector mobility, address regional challenges and work with training providers to ensure supply matches employer demand.

The plan was published by the Nuclear Skills Taskforce in May 2024 and is led jointly by the two departments, backed by government and industry investment including from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Submarines, Babcock and EDF.

The update describes the approach as recognising that a collaborative effort bringing together government, industry and academia from across the civil and defence nuclear sectors is essential to meet future skills needs.

Workforce growth at Barrow-in-Furness has been particularly marked, with the update recording that the workforce there has grown by over 1,800 under the current government. BAE Systems’ Barrow shipyard is described as the only facility in the United Kingdom with the infrastructure, site licence and resources to design and build British nuclear submarines.

BAE Systems, the Defence Nuclear Organisation, Babcock and Rolls-Royce Submarines all maintain teams at Barrow, contributing to the Dreadnought and Astute build programmes and the future SSN-AUKUS programme.

Wes Streeting writes that delivery of the Nuclear Skills Plan is “breaking down barriers to opportunity by bringing highly skilled nuclear jobs to regions that have historically faced challenges”.