Nuclear Industry Partnership Broadens Supply Chain

Phil Black - PII Editor 30/06/2015

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The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has today launched a Nuclear Supply Chain Partnership (NSCP) to help smaller companies get ready to bid for manufacturing work on new nuclear projects helping to broaden the UK supply chain.

Launching at the NIA’s Nuclear New Build 15 Conference in London, the initiative will bring together manufacturing companies who have a realistic offering to nuclear developers, reactor vendors, and top tiers of the supply chain. It will act as a business tool to create a manufacturing legacy for the UK and help SMEs to bid for work, encouraging joint ventures or partnerships with overseas companies to bring a UK percentage to a contract.

The initiative will work closely with the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s (NAMRC) Fit For Nuclear (F4N) programme. 100 companies have already completed the F4N programme.

The F4N equips companies with the technical skills to work in the supply chain and the NIA’s NSCP will provide some of the softer skills, such as business plan writing, access to finance, and contract information to complement the F4N process.

NSCP aims to help SMEs get ready to compete for work across all UK new build projects, starting with Hinkley Point C, Moorside and Wylfa Newydd. To date, over 50 companies have signed up to the scheme.

Keith Parker, Chief Executive, Nuclear Industry Association, said:

“I’m delighted to launch this partnership to help open the supply chain to more companies. Any business working in an advanced manufacturing industry should be viable to compete for work on the UK nuclear new build programme.

“Assisting SMEs to bid for work in the new build supply chain, will mean work being retained in the UK and give successful firms a foothold into the export market.”

Neil Foreman, Chair of the Nuclear Supply Chain Partnership and Chairman of Centronic, added:

“The new nuclear fleet is a huge opportunity for UK-plc. This initiative will put companies in a strong position to enter the existing supply chain and compete for work worth millions of pounds.”

At the conference the NIA will also release its annual Jobs Map which shows the vital contribution the sector makes to local economies across the country. The sector employs over 63,000 people, and for the first time the map includes figures on the number of women in the sector.

The data, collected from the 270 NIA members, shows almost 11,000 women work across all types of role in the nuclear industry – 17% of the total number.

The UK nuclear industry launched its first Women in Nuclear chapter in 2014 to help address the industry”s gender balance by attracting more women to choose a career in the sector, support retention and career progression and promote dialogue with the public.

Miranda Kirschel, Women in Nuclear UK President, said:

“The new build projects we are preparing for in the UK will offer hundreds of job opportunities that the next generation of school and university leavers can take advantage of.

“Taking the NIA’s findings from the Jobs Map research, we can assume that if the number of women in the industry aligns with the number of men, we will have nearly double the resources in the UK nuclear sector alone, signifying a step-change towards bridging the skills gap.”

Across the UK the largest nuclear workforce can be found in the north west, with over 25,000 people reliant on the sector in the region.

Commenting on the launch of the Jobs Map, Keith Parker continued:

“With ambitious plans to build new reactors before 2030, including three in Cumbria and long-term opportunities in decommissioning, the nuclear sector is vital for the economic wellbeing of the UK. Moreover it already makes a major contribution to the development of the Northern Powerhouse.”