[S]ellafield Ltd is aiming for a triple win at a top national awards ceremony.
Three trainees from the nuclear site are up for gongs at the prestigious UK Nuclear Skills Awards this week.
TV favourite Julia Bradbury, a regular visitor to Cumbria, will hand out awards at a glittering ceremony in Manchester on Thursday (15 March).
Hosted by the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN), the event will shine a spotlight on the nuclear professionals of the future.
Daniel Hagan, aged 26 from Egremont is nominated in the ‘Scientific Apprentice of the year’ category.
Aidan Bennett, aged 20 from Maryport, is a finalist in the ‘Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year’ category.
Laura Johnson, aged 26 from St Bees will compete for finalist in the ‘Science Graduate of the year’.
Sellafield Ltd also sponsors another nominee, Nuclear Graduate Aislin Lenehen, who will compete for ‘Engineering Graduate of the Year’.
Daniel Hagan said “My training experience with Sellafield has been excellent, I’ve had the opportunity to work in different environments around the many facilities so its given me a good grounding for my career.
“I‘m happy just to be nominated, but if I win the NSAN Award I would use this to help promote the wide range of careers offered by the nuclear industry.”
With 322 employees in higher education and 550 apprentices on its books, Sellafield Ltd is becoming a world leader in high quality training and education
They are also working to promote gender balance at the site, with 35% their apprentices being female, far higher than the national average. This is something one nominee wants to help with.
Finalist Laura Johnson said; “I chose Sellafield to start my career due to the incredibly diverse opportunities available, we’ve got facilities from the birth of the UK nuclear industry right through to exciting new technologies and ideas.
“I’m really passionate about diversity in our industry and I would like to inspire even more women, people from less affluent backgrounds and other minority groups, to consider bringing their perspectives and skills into our industry.”
Head of Training for Sellafield Ltd, Les Studholme said; “We are hugely proud of the calibre of trainees we have at Sellafield Ltd.
“Young people like Aidan, Daniel, Laura and Aislin will be driving forward the decommissioning programme at Sellafield for many years to come, they are great ambassadors for the company and for the nuclear industry.”
“As we switch from a production line mentality to an entrepreneurial approach we are developing our training programme to attract the young innovators we need to drive our transformation.
“These awards demonstrate the huge opportunities on offer for young people at Sellafield and the value we place on high quality training and development.”
Last year Sellafield Ltd scooped the top award, with Jack Riley being crowned National Apprentice of the Year.
The company now now offers 21 new apprenticeship standards, some at degree level, that they have been developed to match nuclear and UK needs.
Having trained 10,000 apprentices over the last few decades, the company’s investment in skills is helping to position Cumbria as a national hub of nuclear skills development.
