HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT – CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SAFEGUARDS PROFESSIONALS

Recognizing the human resource challenge brought about by the worldwide expansion of nuclear power programs, the increasing number of safeguarded nuclear facilities, the growth in quantities of nuclear material under IAEA safeguards, and the retirement of safeguards experts both in the United States and abroad, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has developed measures to attract and train the next generation of safeguards professionals. In September 2007, the U.S. Secretary of Energy launched the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) to spearhead this program. A key component of NGSI is the Human Capital Development (HCD) program. The HCD program is intended to recruit, educate, train, and retain nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation experts for work in U.S. National Laboratories, federal agencies, and at the IAEA. The paper below highlights each component of the HCD program’s multi-faceted approach to the international safeguards human resource challenge.