Among the events she attended was a meeting hosted by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group, where she was able to hear about progress on its nationally important mission.
The NDA group is tasked with safely and securely decommissioning the nation’s oldest nuclear sites.
At the NWIP skills and apprenticeship fair, Ms Nichols met apprentices and graduates, including Chris Jackson, a process design graduate from Sellafield, who explained first-hand the vital work the NDA group is doing on the ground.
Chris said: “Working at Sellafield as a graduate has allowed me to contribute to the decommissioning mission whilst developing my own behavioural and technical skills as an engineer.
“I decided to join Sellafield as a placement student as I was interested about the nuclear energy industry and wanted to apply the technical knowledge gained from university in a sector, I was passionate about.
“I have directly contributed towards the clean-up of Sellafield, in particular the retrieval of waste from its legacy silos. Knowing I am contributing to Sellafield’s mission of creating a clean and safe environment for future generations is one of the reasons I find my work so rewarding.”
There are currently more than 1,500 apprentices and graduates across NDA group early careers schemes and hundreds of PhD students and post-doctoral researchers have been sponsored, focusing on developing advanced skills.
Ms Nichols said “Nuclear Week is one of my most important times in Parliament each year.
“We have had 20 events over three days across the industry, and I’m proud that Warrington’s excellence as a centre of highly skilled nuclear workers is recognised nationally, and indeed internationally.
“New analysis from the Northern Nuclear Alliance shows that there are now 7,000 jobs in civil nuclear in Warrington, and I have been delighted to see such a strong showing from Warrington at all of the events including our amazing NDA graduates and apprentices with whom I was so pleased to meet.
“We have many opportunities for further growth, particularly with the Sizewell C Final Investment Decision and the Great British Nuclear selection of the SMR technologies for development both due imminently – something I have spent my time in Parliament lobbying hard for. The Hinkley Point C project alone has been worth almost half a billion pounds of direct investment into Warrington-based businesses, and we stand to make similar gains from future projects coming online as a core part of the supply chain.
“I have had conversations this week with representatives across the sector about drawing further investment and jobs into our area, as we strive to meet the new Governments objectives on growth and net zero – something the civil nuclear sector will play a key part in helping to deliver! It’s a very exciting time indeed in this space.
“I would also like to specifically thank Warrington’s NDA apprentices for their time and hope that they inspire many young people in in town to know that there are skilled and rewarding opportunities in nuclear careers available for them locally.”
