Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

If the nuclear renaissance takes off as many expect it to do, there is going to be a critical need for a well-educated workforce – as many as 236,000 skilled professionals, according to a forecast from the Department of Energy.

In preparation, ORAU, in partnership with several leading nuclear industry organizations, has launched a strategic initiative to address the workforce challenges and education gaps faced by the nuclear energy industry.

The Nuclear Energy Academic Roadmap (NEAR) aims to enhance career awareness, support pipeline development, identify financial resources, and optimize academic programs at the K-12, vocational and technical school, and university levels.

“The nuclear industry plays a key role in meeting the nation’s demand for power generation, but projections indicate a challenging labor market for the next decade and into the 2060s,” said Dr. Olivia Blackmon, Director of the ORAU STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Accelerator and the Partnership for Nuclear Energy (PNE), who led the team that developed NEAR.

A proactive approach to secure and retain qualified workers is required, Blackmon said. NEAR’s focus on comprehensive workforce capacity building seeks to cultivate a robust and skilled talent pool for the nuclear energy sector.

“The Nuclear Energy Academic Roadmap is not just a document – it’s a blueprint for our future,” she said. “By bridging educational gaps and creating clear pathways for emerging talent, we are investing in the next generation of nuclear professionals who will drive innovation, ensure safety, and contribute to sustainable energy solutions.”

NEAR was released during a meeting of the ORAU Partnership for Nuclear Energy (PNE) and the Nuclear Energy Academic Alliance (NEAA) in late January, and a synopsis can be downloaded here.

---