It’s no secret that our nuclear industry in Cumbria and further afield is experiencing some major skills shortages – but what are the solutions to this age-old problem?

NRL, a homegrown success story, is trying to address those challenges.

NRL was formed in 1983, originally as a non-destructive testing business in Egremont.

The company was having trouble finding radiographers in the area so decided to recruit them themselves. It grew into a small recruitment company, eventually becoming what it is today.
NRL director Rebecca Graves said: “We are now an industry-leading global recruitment company, with a forecasted 2023 turnover of £220m, but our story is one of organic growth, having been founded in Cumbria by Andrew Redmayne, whose passion and innovation for the sector continue to be at the heart of all we do.”
The company has a real focus on working to combat skills shortages within the area.

“We are on the precipice of experiencing what is an incredibly concerning skills shortage. In the main we have an ageing workforce of nuclear operatives, and despite having some of the best nuclear experts in the world on our doorstep, we need to continue replenishing the talent pool in order to combat the challenge.
“We have mass growth projected for our sector in Cumbria, so what we need to do is ensure that we are prepared for that. One of the key focus areas needs to be around diversity and educating a wider demographic, specifically young women, for example, much earlier than we do on career opportunities in the nuclear sector, because there is an imbalance.
“In order for us to be attracting those young women into the sector we need to be engaging with them at primary school age and educating them about their career and what’s available for them in  the nuclear sector.
“We are not going to be able to find people the way we did years ago. We are going to have to continue to evolve and develop and it's about upskilling, looking at our community and the individuals that are coming up now into the sector and looking at how we can support them with the skills they need to drive upwards and then in turn to create more space and nurture those individuals.”
NRL is working with schools and talking to children about STEM subjects. The company is also working to develop mass upskilling programmes.