DEVELOPERS of a nuclear waste disposal facility have provided a first look at the jobs and skills it could create.
Nuclear Waste Services hope to find a suitable site in the UK for a Geological Disposal Facility, with communities in Allerdale and Copeland amongst those in talks about hosting it.
A GDF is hailed as the most safe and secure method of storing higher level radioactive waste but will require the appropriate geology to store it underground as well as a willing community.
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And today, for the first time, Nuclear Waste Services has revealed what it could mean for the jobs market in an area.
A GDF will create more than 4,000 jobs in the first 25 years, both on-site and in the local nuclear supplier chain.
And NWS has said: “We estimate that most of the jobs created during construction and operation could and should be locally based.”
Direct jobs created at the site would include 130 engineering, science and technical roles; 875 trades and 300 roles in project management, operations and business function.
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NWS has said that 75 per cent of the roles available on-site will suitable for candidates with A-Levels or below.
The site assessments and initial construction of the GDF will alone take 25 years, a 140 year period will see operation and further construction with sealing and closure set to take 10 years.
Details of the GDF’s economic benefits have been revealed in a report from NWS today.
Karen Wheeler, Nuclear Waste Services Deputy CEO/ Major Capital Programmes Director, said: “A GDF will be one of the biggest infrastructure programmes in the UK and provide a major investment for the local host community and its economy, as well as being a vital national project.
“The long-term nature of the project provides a unique opportunity to develop skills, expertise and sustainable jobs for a local community.
“We are now making real progress and having conversations with a number of communities about the potential for them to host a GDF.”
In their report, NWS said that the long timeframe allows education and training initiatives to be launched in the area “giving communities opportunities to develop relevant and transferrable skills. A GDF will provide huge economic stimulus for the local community, the region and more broadly across the UK.”
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