Advancing Nuclear Skills Regionally A Two-State Post-Secondary Partnership

A highly skilled workforce is required to support future cleanup missions from Cold War activities, the processing and management of nuclear materials and the operations of the nuclear security enterprise. Maintaining and expanding this specialized workforce is essential as nuclear workforce demands are growing at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina and the surrounding two-state region. At SRS, new facility construction and on-going operations require the same skilled workforce that is needed at four new nuclear power plants under construction within 90-miles of SRS. Two of the new plants are being constructed nearby at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia and two are under construction in Jenkinsville, South Carolina. To address growing nuclear workforce needs in this region of Georgia and South Carolina, the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO), a private, non-profit economic development entity, established the Nuclear Workforce Initiative (NWI®) during 2009. Through NWI®, the SRSCRO has developed a network of partnerships with nuclear employers and regional educators to expand nuclear workforce development capabilities. Most notably, through NWI®, the SRSCRO established partnerships with five local Colleges and Universities with significant results. The higher education partners are Augusta University and Augusta Technical College in Georgia and the University of South Carolina Aiken, University of South Carolina Salkehatchie, and Aiken Technical College in South Carolina. The SRSCRO and the five post-secondary partners have substantial experience working together to train and develop the area's workforce on a $4.8 million Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) funded program called Advancing Nuclear Skills Regionally (ANSR). College and University partners have leveraged more than $4.6 million on their own to support ANSR programs with substantial results. In just four years, the ANSR partnership has produced seven new nuclear educational and training programs to address specific skill gaps in the nuclear industry. Already, more than 821 students have enrolled in ANSR programs, and 159 have graduated with 90% working in their field of study, many at SRS. The SRSCRO and its partners are using this solid foundation to support long-term nuclear material workforce needs.