Cumbria boosted by 500 Sellafield jobs
ENERGY minister John Hayes has announced that 500 jobs are to be created at Sellafield in Cumbria.
In a speech to the Nuclear Industry Association’s annual Energy Choices conference, in London, Mr Hayes said recruitment at the giant nuclear decommissioning plant will begin immediately.
Sellafield managing director Todd Wright said: “We are delivering our mission of accelerating safe and efficient clean-up. Because of the progress we are making and the efficiencies we have achieved, we are now able to focus even more funding on acceleration work, and this new influx of staff will mean we are able to do more work, more quickly.”
The vast majority of the 500 roles are likely to be filled locally.
Mr Hayes said: “Energy is central to our economic future and at the heart of all we do as a nation. Just as atoms collide in a nuclear reactor, the economic benefits of our nuclear renaissance will reverberate far and wide across the country.
“The announcement of 500 jobs at Sellafield today shows the immense contribution of the nuclear sector to the UK economy, in particular that of West Cumbria.”
Copeland MP Jamie Reed added: ““These new roles will help re-establish West Cumbriaas a global centre for nuclear excellence, and demonstrate that our best days in Copeland are ahead of us, which I’ve been saying for a long time.”
The vacancies cover a wide array of disciplines including operations, craft and maintenance personnel as well as some more specialist safety and technical positions.
The jobs figure includes 50 local apprentices who will join the company after completing their training at GEN II and a further 50 graduates from Sellafield’s graduate recruitment program.
