Year
2012
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to describe the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s primary development program for entry level staff. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administers the Nuclear Safety Professional Development Program (NSPDP) as a mechanism for hiring highly qualified individuals into an intensive two-year training and qualification program leading to established career ladder positions within the NRC. The NSPDP’s goal is to provide graduates, who have both superior academic standing and a high potential for achievement, challenging professional technical assignments with both a broad and specialized perspective of NRC operations. There are multiple developmental paths for candidates to pursue, each corresponding to different aspects of the NRC’s Mission and initial career paths within the NRC. This approach allows for the recruitment of technical, humanities, and support oriented staff to help meet the increasingly diverse needs of the Commission. Through a combination of classroom training, on the job training, developmental rotations, mentoring opportunities, and facility exposure participants are exposed to a broad range of NRC activities which helps to build a solid knowledge base for current and future assignments. Firsthand experience of the program will be used to provide a high level review of the various components as they pertain to current undergraduate students.