Successful projects lead to Canadian nuclear job surge

The country’s nuclear workforce has grown by 17% over the last five years, playing a vital role in the nation’s economy – but with nuclear new-build projects likely to mean even further job growth, the industry needs to develop plans to build the workforce of the future.

The CNA and the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries engaged Toronto-based MZConsulting Inc to update the 2019 study on the economic impact of the nuclear industry on the Canadian economy, as well as looking at the quality of nuclear jobs, trends in the composition of the nuclear workforce, and the potential for future job growth.

The study – Benefits of nuclear energy for Canadians – found that the Canadian nuclear industry has created a total 89,000 jobs across the country, an increase of 17% since the last study in 2019. The total impact to Canadian GDP is CAD22 billion (USD16.3 billion) per year, an increase of 30% over the last five years.

This growth has been driven by the success of Canadian nuclear plant refurbishment projects – which are progressing well and being delivered on time and on budget – as well as a growing recognition of nuclear energy’s pivotal role in achieving a net-zero future and bolstering energy security, with Ontario Power Generation’s plans to build Canada’s first grid-scale small modular reactor, and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ campus modernisation and microreactor plans.

The study showed that 44% of these jobs are held by individuals aged 40 or younger, with 89% of the jobs falling into the “high job skill” category – either professional level jobs requiring a university degree or higher, or highly skilled technical jobs including the various trades that make up the nuclear workforce.

And with new projects under way, job growth is set to continue, the report found, with some companies reporting plans to grow their workforce by another 20% over the next three years.

“In 2019, the future of nuclear in Canada was uncertain following existing plant refurbishment,” the report says in its Executive Summary. “Today, fleets of new build SMRs and Large Nuclear are needed. This potential for new nuclear will result in considerable job growth across all parts of the industry. Failure to plan and meet the need for skilled workers is a key risk to delivering these new nuclear fleets. More work is needed to fully understand these future needs and implement a robust strategy to develop the education and training to create tomorrow’s skilled nuclear workforce.”

“As Canada progresses towards its ambitious decarbonisation targets, the demand for skilled nuclear workers is projected to escalate,” CNA said. ”The industry is proactively addressing this challenge by focusing on attracting, educating, and retaining the talent necessary to support future projects. These projects include the development of innovative small modular reactors and the potential construction of new large-scale nuclear plants.”

More than 50 companies provided input for the report.