cqi career guide

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NUCLEARCAREER GUIDETHE CQI GUIDE TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT CAREERS IN NUCLEAR

A tal oleAn n-deph ook ahe oe avaabe oqua poeona

NUCLEARSIG

Get slledPahwa n o quamanagemen aeen nuea


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NUCLEAR CAREERS GUIDE www.thecqi.org/nuclear

OriOn: AWEs lAsEr Acility(on page mage) British Crown Owned Copyright 2012/AWE

Hgh-powe ae enabe en o epae,on a mnue ae n a aboao, he phaondon o ondu eeah no hgh enegden ph phenomena, uh ha ou a hehea o a nuea epoon. AWE poneeed hpe o epemena a and ha ed he waon eeah n h aea.

the Oon ae head a new ea o ae phepemen. Degned pma o uppo AWEoe wok, Oon w ao dve deveopmen nundamena ene and ao nended ouppo ae uon eneg eeah whh oudpa a ke oe n deveopng eneg o he uue.

When Oon u opeaona, w be avaabeo oaboave aadem eeah. Houed n abudng he e o a ooba fed, Oon w gveen he oppoun o ud dene andempeaue ound nowhee ee on eah.


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www.thecqi.org/nuclear NUCLEAR CAREERS GUIDE 01

WELCOMEin een ea, ewe peope have ave ondeed he dea o a aee

n he nuea eo, bu wh he panned onuon o new nuea poweaon n he UK and houand o new job epeed a a eu, aongdea ho o new quafaon and anng o povde he neea k, heeha neve been a moe eng me o onde a aee n h aea.

A he nuea ndu gow, he qua poeon w be a n meeng

he haenge aed. i qua poeona who w enue oganaonae equpped o dea wh he a pae o hange ha w be equed,a we a oung on he auane o ae and envonmen ha o a o nuea.

the chaeed Qua inue (cQi) ha ong uppoed qua poeonan he nuea eo, boh n v nuea and deene, and hee ae uenmoe han 300 qua paone benefng om he poeona eognon,newokng oppoune and knowedge eoue aoaed wh cQimembehp. Man ao aend egua even hoed b cQi Nuea speainee Goup (NusiG) aound he oun o ean om ohe whn hendu and make hoe a-mpoan ona. Wh h gude, cQi am ogve boh empoee and empoe he nomaon he need abou quamanagemen aee n nuea. We hope ou fnd ueu.


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Gude nomaon | Edo: Heen soke | Degne: rk Eabeh | Pn b smh and Wa chaeed Qua inue 2012 the vew epeed n h gude do no neea epeen hoe o he cQi. regeed cha No: 259678cQi, 2nd oo Noh, chane Ehange, 10 unva see, london Ec4A 1AB t: +44 (0)20 7245 6722 E: [email protected]


COnTEnTS 5 itoducto: cQi che Eeuve smon ea

and cQi NusiG cha Geo Edmondon6 nuclea egeeato: the uue o he nuea ndu n he UK:

new bud and new oppoune

10 nuclea idust Assocato: Job map o he UK v nuea ndu

12 A tal ole: An n-deph ook a he oe avaabe o qua

poeona n nuea16 Get slled: Pahwa n o qua managemen aee n nuea,

wh dea on k, quafaon and anng

20 Te CQi ad uclea secto: How he cQi an uppo aee n nuea

22 Emloe ofle: seafed ld

24 Emloe ofle: ED Eneg26 Emloe ofle: AWE p

28 Wee et? nd ou moe abou he nuea ndu


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inTrODUCTiOnthe qua unon pa a gnfan oe n man oganaon ao man eo, bu ha apaua mpoan ak whn he nuea ndu. th an ndu whee qua em ae aboueua o enue he ae and auane o he opeaon onened, no on n em o he peope

wokng de wh hem, bu ao n eaon o wde oa, naona and goba ommune.

the pubaon o h new Gude o Qua Managemen caee n Nuea demonae he cQionnued ommmen o mananng he va o he qua poeon b enouagng new enan oh mpoan and gowng eo. i emphae he mpoane o eduaon and anng and oe uppoo hoe a he a o he aee, a we a qua poeona ondeng a hange n eo.

A che Eeuve, i am poud o epeen he vew o he cQi. Ou oe n pomong qua and henee o he qua poeon va o UK p. i woud be deghed o weome a o ou who ead hgude o jon u a ou wok owad deveopng ou aee n qua.

smon eacQi che Eeuve

Wh he anpaed epanon o he nuea ndu n he UK, eaed b he emegng nuea new-budpogamme and he ongong deommonng o edundan ae, he poena aee oppoune ohe qua poeona n he nuea eo oud no be bee.

the cQi Nuea spea inee Goup (NusiG) vng o deveop he apab o qua poeona

whn he nuea ndu hough newokng even amed a hang knowedge and epeene a wea hough he povon o gudane maea uh a he een pubhed Nuea Qua Knowedge.th doumen, avaabe ee a www.heq.og/nuea, hghgh ome o he deene and unqueequemen o h hgh eguaed ndu.

th gude o qua managemen aee n he nuea ndu amed a eng qua poeonawho ma be aaed o he ndu a h eng me, and hoe a he a o he aee who haveju ompeed u-me eduaon. i hope enouage ou o onde beomng a qua poeona n henuea eo and i ook owad o weomng ou a one o ou even.Geo Edmondon, cQi cQPcha, cQi Nuea spea inee Goup


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06 NUCLEAR CAREERS GUIDE www.thecqi.org/nuclear

The Future of Nuclear

Career opportunities currently existin nuclear energy as never before.Increasing energy demand and greater

concern for our environment are leadingto the expansion of nuclear power inthe UK via the new build programme,while at the same time, the industryfaces the loss of skilled personnel due toretirement over the next several years.The result is a range of challenging andrewarding job opportunities appearingall over the industry and all over thecountry.

As well as this breadth of opportunity,nuclear remains one of the few sectors

in the UK able to provide a long-term,stable and rewarding career, with manynuclear workers spending their entireworking lives within the industry.A career in the nuclear sector also offers

competitive pay, the potential for careerdevelopment and challenging projects.

With all this on offer, it is no surprise

that Clive Smith, Skills DevelopmentDirector for Nuclear at Cogent, theNuclear Sector Skills Council can so

easily highlight the benets of a career in

the sector. He says: Who wouldnt want

to work in nuclear? Its an industr y witha long-term, stable future, good careerdevelopment opportunities and its anindustry where quality and safety aresimply synonymous.

New build, new jobs

Nuclear energy is a core focus forthe UK government. It is seen as an

affordable, low-carbon energy sourcethat can meet the future energy needsof the UK population. To work towards

meeting those needs, ve new nuclear

plants have so far been identied by

the government for construction. Thescale of this new programme meansthousands of new jobs will be createdand the rst contract is expected to be

awarded very soon, with the UKs Rolls-Royce expected to a win a substantial

share of the build of the rst plant and

Frances Areva supplying the core ofits nuclear reactor. At the same timeas this new work begins to take shape,the decommissioning of existing nuclearplants will be ongoing with a steady

nUCLEAr rEGEnErATiOnWitH NEW BUilD PrOJEcts ON tHE HOrizON,its AN ExcitiNG tiME Or tHE NUclEAr iNDUstryiN tHE UK As it GEArs UP Or tHE cHAllENGE OrEcrUitiNG AND trAiNiNG A BrAND NEW WOrKOrcE

1,000 new quapoeona job n newbud aone


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demand for skilled quality professionals.The projected time span for new build

and decommissioning stretches over

the next 13 years. And, while the sectorcurrently employs around 44,000 in civilnuclear and 14,000 in defence, recentestimates in the CQIs 2012 researchreport, Nuclear Industry UK: Researchinto current and future quality professional

skill needs, expect overall employmentin the sector to increase by 14,000 overthe next 10 years, with demand for over1,000 new quality professional jobs innew build alone. The report continues:

This is against a current estimated gure

of 2,320 quality professionals employedin the nuclear sector.

On top of the need to attract newpeople to the industry to meet theneeds of new build and decommissioning,

research by Cogent, Power People TheCivil Nuclear Workforce 20092025,demonstrates that the current nuclear

workforce is on average older thanthe rest of the UK workforce, creatingfurther vacancies. This is corroborated bythe CQIs research, albeit focused on thequality segment of that workforce, which

identies an anticipated high rate of

attrition of quality professionals from thesector through retirement.

Over on the defence side of thenuclear industry, there is less evidence,according to the CQIs research, tosuggest an increased demand for jobs

in the next 10 years. The repor t states:Demand, which is dependent upongovernment defence strategy,is expected to remain essentiallyconstant, if anything with a small decrease

in overall employment during the next13 years. The availability of skills may beaffected by the demands in the new build

in the civil sector.

Training up

While the overall increase in jobs inthe nuclear industr y is good newsfor individuals and the economy as awhole, the need to recruit and train anew workforce of this size represents aconsiderable challenge for the industry.Additionally, when it comes to qualityprofessionals, the CQIs research has

identied serious gaps in the sectors

skills strategy.The repor t states: Cogent, and

the other employer-led bodies for

the sector, have identied future skills

shortages which mirror the skillset of

Torness Nuclear Power Station, near Dunbar, Scotland, UK.

Opened in 1988, it was the last of the second generationnuclear power station to be built in the UK.


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quality professionals. However, it hasfailed to categorise these shortages andconsequently runs the risk of failing toinclude the training and qualication

needs for the quality profession in itsplans.

Alastair Evans, spokesperson for theNuclear Industry Association, admits thatwork needs to be done to address theneed for quality skills. He says: Furthertraining is certainly needed in qualityskills for the industry and we will workdiligently with other bodies to addressthat need.

Time is also increasingly of theessence, as shown by the Nuclear SkillsRisk Register published in Cogents 2010

report, Next Generation Skills for NewBuild Nuclear. The register identied

quality control and quality assurance

skills to be at high risk of skills decit

over the medium term (four to ve

years). This nding, when combined

with the CQIs research that suggeststhe average training period for a qualityprofessional is two years, makes the needfor immediate action to address both thefuture skills base and potential shortagesof quality professionals even more acute.

Encouragingly, the CQI report founda high recognition of the importanceof quality across the nuclear sector, butadded that the professionals deliveringit need to be formally recognised.It seems obvious that appropriatetraining programmes need to beestablished to address these skills gapsand the associated shortage of qualityprofessionals, but according to thereport, there is no evidence to suggestthat the sector has so far recognisedthese needs by incorporating professional

quality qualications into its detailed skillsstrategy.

Inspiring for the future

While there is clearly work to be donewhen it comes to addressing the futureneed for training and provision in qualityskills in the nuclear sector, there aresigns of a growing awareness of thisissue. Certain employers hope that theirexperience can help to develop thenecessary new build skills strategy.

Ian Mitchell, Director of Quality atBAE Systems Maritime Submarine,explains: In defence, we had to developan improvement strategy to returnour workforce to the required level of

competence after a period of hiatus.Its a similar situation in civil nuclear

for new build. After a 25-year lull interms of recruitment and training, there

are a lot of difculties in terms of lack

of skills. Through my chairmanship of theNuclear Industry Associations Quality

Working group and par ticipation in othergroups such as the CQI Nuclear Special

Interest Group and the CQI DefenceIndustry Group, I hope to support and

inuence the development of quality

skills in nuclear.While individual employers clearly


The Future of Nuclear

ThE EMpLOyEr viEWEmployers have been aware of the looming quality skills shortage in nuclear for

some time. At Sellaeld Ltd, Head of Quality Howard Cooper regrets whathe perceives as stagnation in the industry since the mid-1990s, with the majorfocus on decommissioning.

He says: There had been a perception that the UK didnt need nuclear powerand we lost a focus on the recruitment and training of people we certainlyhavent maintained a growing cadre of quality professionals in nuclear. As a result,weve lost a lot of previously held knowledge and experienced employees and wenow face a huge investment challenge.

At the same time, new build projects are lur ing many experienced employeesinto new roles. Howard explains: New build is enticing the people we do have

with the offer of a lot of money and there are signicant opportunities across thenuclear sector in all functions especially in quality.

On the defence side of the industry, Ian Mitchell, Director of Quality at BAESystems Maritime Submarine, is faced with the same issue. He says: A majorworry for me is losing people to the civil sector. There is a real problem in termsof a skills drain from defence to higher-paid jobs in the civil sector.

But despite the differing challenges they face, employers are in agreementwhen it comes to the benets of a quality management career in nuclear. Mike

Underwood, Senior Quality Consultant at Magnox Ltd, highlights the potential for

exibility: New build will offer a var iety of roles and once youre working in the

industry, you can move around or stay on the same sor t of project.

As well as the diversity on offer, quality professionals in nuclear are held inhigh regard due to the emphasis placed on quality and safety in the sector andbecause they generally have experience across a business. Mike says: In nuclear,there is always a network of quality people working with you, either directly or

indirectly. In other industries, it can be difcult to make your lone voice heard, but

in nuclear you are taken seriously.

Developing quality skills also helps when it comes to developing your career.Quality is an outward-facing function that has impacts business-wide, as IanMitchell explains: Working in quality gives you a good grounding across abusiness. Its possible to start off working in a quality role, before deciding on a

specialism.

Meanwhile, Paul Murphy, Management Systems and Business Continuity Managerat Dounreay, believes there will also be openings for quality professionals movingacross from other sectors as companies take the decision to broaden theirrecruitment criteria. For example, a lead auditor from a similar highly regulatedindustry, such as pharmaceutical, would have many of the core quality skillsneeded to succeed in nuclear.


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have their par t to play, the CQIsresearch primarily urges bodies such asCogent and the National Skills Academyfor Nuclear to urgently reassess thedemand for quality professionals acrossthe nuclear sector and adjust theircurrent skills strategy as appropriate,with support from the Nuclear IndustryAssociation as the representative bodyfor the sector.

The CQI itself hopes to supportthis work through its NucSIG and itsrole as the Chartered body for qualitymanagement professionals.

Chair of NucSIG Geoff Edmondsonexplains that the group is consideringwhat else it might do to support qualityskills training in the sector. He says: Ourmembership currently stands at around300 and we have a lively programme ofevents, where our aim is to offer nuclearsector networking and opportunities to

share quality experience and knowledgeacross the industry, but were alwaysaiming to improve what we can offer.

And CQI CEO Simon Feary hasthe last word. He says: As the only

Chartered body for quality managementprofessionals, the CQI exists topromote the importance of the qualitymanagement approach and the skillsassociated with it are absolutely vital to

the nuclear industr y. We will work hardto suppor t the ongoing work around thenuclear skills agenda over the next tenyears and over the long term.


401

30

commercial nuclear

reactors operating in

There are currently over

countries, with a further

63under construction

USEUL LinkSDepartment for Energy and Climate Change has a website section dedicated tothe nuclear industry, with information on new build, existing nuclear

plants and government policywww.decc.gov.ukNext Generation: Skills for New Build Nuclear, Cogent 2010 and Power People the Civil Nuclear Workforce 20092025, Cogent 2009

www.cogent-ssc.com/research/nuclearresearch.phpThe Nuclear Industry Association website has a range of reports andinformation on the civil nuclear industrywww.niauk.org

Nuclear Industry UK: Research into current and future quality professional skill

needs, Roger Jeary, CQI 2012www.thecqi.org/nuclear-research

Sources: Nuclear Factbook 2011, Canadian Nuclear Association;

Department of Energy and Climate Change; Nuclear Industry Association

A GLObAL viEW

Nuclear generationcurrentlyreduces

UK carbon emissions

by between 7% and

14% and helps

avoid about

2.4 billion tonnes

of global carbon

emissions annually

worldwide

Nuclear power remains one of the mostaffordable sources of electricity worldwide

Nuclear energy currently

supplies around

16.5%of the UKs electricity


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Quality roles

A viTAL rOLEAN iN-DEPtH lOOK At tHE DiErENt ArEAs WHErE QUAlityPrOEssiONAls WOrK iN tHE NUclEAr iNDUstry

Working within quality in the nuclearindustry means you could be employedon a whole range of diverse projectsin different areas, coupled with thechallenge of conforming to a host of

regulations focused on maintaining thesafety of your company, its employeesand the wider world.

You might focus on a eld more

traditional ly associated with quality interms of audit or management systems,but you could just as easily concentrateon managing supply chain partners orthe control of organisational change.Following a 40-year career in the nuclearsector, Geoff Edmondson, Chair of theCQI NucSIG, emphasises the diversity ofhis experience.

For me, every day was different.I was dealing not only with people inmy organisation, but also regulators,

certication bodies and customers from

all over the world. There were alwaysnew challenges and learning experiencesas well as the satisfaction of helping tosolve quality problems.

At the moment, as the nuclear sectorfaces unprecedented demand for peoplewith the right skills to support the newgeneration of nuclear power stations and

the decommissioning of older sites, therehas never been a better time to nd

out more about different quality-relatedactivities within this growing industry,whether youre just starting out in your

career or looking to change sector.Here we take a look at what activitiesare managed by quality professionals innuclear.

Management systemsand audit

As is the case in many other sectors,formal management systems set up in

accordance with dened standards such

as ISO 9001 for quality managementsystems and ISO 14001 for environmentalmanagement systems are the norm inthe nuclear industry with many nuclearsite licence companies also expectingcertain ISO standards to be adoptedby their suppliers. What is different toother industries is that nuclear sites

must conform to specic managementsystem standards designed for them. Inthe UK, this means International AtomicEnergy Agency Safety Standard GS-R-3,a standard very close in structure andapproach to ISO 9001.

As a quality professional working ona nuclear site or for a company thatsupplies a nuclear site, you might workon or with a management system in avariety of ways. For instance, you mightwork on maintaining and developing

a current management system, liaisingwith colleagues at different levels acrossthe organisation to keep it up to date

and t for purpose. If you work for a

company that supplies a nuclear site, you

might need to work on your companysmanagement system to make sure itmeets all the requirements of yoursupply contract.

Of course, in order to make sure that

the system is working well and peopleare following its processes, regular auditsneed to take place. As safety is of suchparamount importance in the nuclear

sector, internal audits are not sufcient.

Third-party audits by certication

bodies as well as regular checks byregulators are all operations that a qualityprofessional would oversee and monitor.

Audit is often cited as a key skill forquality professionals in any industry andits certainly a useful skill to have whenworking in nuclear as Paul Murphy,

Management Systems and BusinessContinuity Manager at Dounreay,highlights. He says: Auditors need to usetheir own experience and develop theirown credibility. Its not just about knowingthe standards youre auditing against.Auditors need a passionate curiosity fordigging out the right information andidentifying where value is being added ortaken away in a process.

Safety and environment

In the nuclear industry, safety isparamount and every role in the sectorhas an emphasis on safety behaviours andculture. However, quality professionalsmay have more of a focus on developing



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and nurturing that culture, says CliveSmith, Skills Development Directorfor Nuclear at Cogent, the sector skillscouncil for nuclear.

Safety is an obvious fundamental

underlying requirement in the nuclearindustry. Quality assurance andmanagement systems must worktogether to assure the safety ofworkers and the public from potentially

harmful radiation. Standards such asthe IAEAs Safety Standard GS-R-3provide requirements and there are araft of regulatory requirements bothnationally according to the site l icence

conditions and internationally withthe European Union directive underthe EURATOM treaty and other IAEAguidance. Many nuclear companies

also choose to gain certication to the

OHSAS 18001 standard for developmentof an occupational health and safetymanagement system.

Organisational design

Effective management of organisationalchange is essential to all businesses,but for the UK nuclear industry, itis a legal requirement to effectivelymanage any changes that may have an



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Quality roles

impact on nuclear safety and the widerenvironment.

To be considered as an effectiveand compliant nuclear organisation, a

company must have sufcient people

with the required qualications and

experience and these employees mustbe organised and managed to ensurethat all tasks that may impact on nuclearsafety and environmental compliance arecarried out correctly.

As with any other industry, the nuclearindustry continually faces change. Inrecent years, the economic deregulationof the electricity market, new build andthe increasing use of contractors arejust some of the challenges faced by

organisations. However, what is differentto other industr ies are the potentiallydevastating consequences if change is noteffectively managed.

Records management

Records management is important withinmany industries, but there are specic

challenges and obligations within thenuclear industry. Nuclear site licenseesare required to maintain records todemonstrate compliance with the

conditions of their nuclear site licences,including records of specications givento their supplier s.

Records must also be retainedfor environmental regulations andcommissioning activities plus records ofplant construction and contaminationlevels are very important when it comesto decommissioning. Given that the lifeof a nuclear power station is usuallylong, these records often need to begenerated and maintained over longperiods of time.

It is clear how records managementmight fall within the remit of the qualityprofessional as part of a managementsystem. For example, there needs to be

a clear denition of who is responsible

for keeping records as well as a dened

procedure to follow: all staff need tounderstand and commit to a disciplinedapproach to records management. Inaddition, security arrangements mightneed to be put in place, particularlyif records include sensitive nuclear

information.

Knowledge management

We all have access to a huge amountof information both at work and

outside our organisations. Knowledgemanagement has become particularlyimportant to nuclear companies as thesesources of knowledge expand and asconcern has grown that the currentageing nuclear workforce in the UK willmean a loss of knowledge that can neverbe replaced.

This area does not consistently fall tothe quality professional within a nuclearcompany, but there is certainly a part tobe played, as records and informationmust be kept in accordance with themanagement system.

Mike Underwood, Senior QualityConsultant at Magnox North, explains.Knowledge management is a new kid

on the block. It can sit within engineering,human resources or IT, but information

storage is denitely an area where the

quality professional is becoming moreactive.

Procurement

Large, complex, one-off programmescannot rely on a systems approach toquality, says Ian Mitchell, Director of

Quality at BAE Systems Maritime Submarine. Suppliers can be unfamiliarwith nuclear requirements and we needto check their work. It is important thatquality professionals carry out supply

chain verication and build a good

relationship with suppliers.Very few nuclear site licence

companies are able to undertake allnuclear safety-related work from withintheir own organisation. Specialist supportcan be outsourced for a range offunctions from design and manufactureto activities such as inspection, third-party audits and records storage.

All of these suppliers need to bemanaged to ensure that requirements

are met without issue and qualityprofessionals can bring rigour andconsistency to related suppliermanagement processes.

Confguration management

A nuclear plants lifespan can be manydecades if not longer. Over this periodthe conguration of its site, its processes

and its organisational structure will


USEUL LinkSCogent, the sector skills council for nuclear, offers lists of job proles, casestudy lms and information on qualications and career pathways

www.cogent-careers.comCogents Skills Match tool allows individuals to check their skills andemployers to benchmark their company competence proles against the

national Nuclear Job Contexts frameworkwww.cogent-skillsmatch.comThe National Skills Academy for Nuclear has a wealth of information for

individuals and employers on job roles, qualications and career pathways in

the nuclear sector plus a jobs pagewww.nuclear.nsacademy.co.uk

Quality Jobs is the ofcial jobs board of the CQI.

You can also sign up for free email job alerts

www.qualityjobs.org.ukDownload the CQI NucSIGs free Nuclear Quality Knowledge PDF forinformation on just about every facet of quality management

www.thecqi.org/nucsigDownload the CQI Salary Survey for the latest information on salaries,

employment and market trends within the quality professionwww.thecqi.org/Documents/knowledge/QW%20salary%20survey%202011.pdf


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change a huge amount. These changesneed to be carefully controlled and

managed to ensure the safety of workers,the environment and the general publicand the discipline of managing these

changes is referred to as conguration

management.

Effective conguration management can

cover many areas, including:

Plant design Inspection and test equipment

Dened site management

arrangements

Controlled organisational change.

It is clear how quality professionals canbe involved in this area with managing

and documenting change of the differentstructures and processes involved in the

conguration of a plant.


TypiCAL JOb TiTLESin nUCLEAr

Auditor/Assessor

Inspector

Quality Control Manager

Quality Process Engineer

Quality Assurance

Quality Engineer

Safety Engineer

Source: Nuclear Industry UK,

Roger Jear y, CQI 2012.

www.thecqi.org/nuclear-research


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Pathways into quality

GET SkiLLEDAll tHE iNOrMAtiON yOU NEED ABOUt tHE sKills,QUAliicAtiONs AND trAiNiNG Or QUAlity MANAGEMENtcArEErs iN tHE NUclEAr iNDUstry

Working in quality management rolesin the nuclear sector requires thedevelopment and application of a

number of skills. It is certainly importantto develop the technical attributesneeded to work in nuclear as well asyour quality knowledge and related skills,but it is just as vital to foster the r ightinterpersonal skills needed to succeed.

Howard Cooper is Head of Qualityat Sellaeld Ltd. He knows what is

important to his organisation whenrecruiting quality professionals: aneducational background with a technicalbasis, typically in engineering or science,

combined with formally recognisedquality qualications. Were looking fora solid educational background witha technical basis in an area such asengineering or science as well as a soundquality skillset.

In addition, he wants to see greatinuencing skills. He says: Quality

professionals often have to punch abovetheir weight by liaising with people whoare typically a grade or two above themwithin the organisation: the decision-

makers. They need to be condent when

it comes to persuading these seniorcolleagues to take action.

Geoff Edmondson, Chair of the CQINucSIG is also keen to highlight theopportunities for a quality professionalmoving across to nuclear from anotherindustry. He agrees that attitude isimportant. He cites an open mind andwillingness to learn as key attributesfor quality professionals in the nuclearsector.

Quality professionals need to listen

and they also need to be assertive whennecessary. Technical skills can be acquired,but being able to tailor your approach towork with different people in a varietyof situations is vital.

Getting started

There are a host of qualications,

training and employer-led learning

opportunities available to supportanyone attracted to working as a qualityprofessional in the nuclear industry, forthose just star ting out or considering acareer change. Faced with the challengesof an ageing workforce and the need formore skilled workers to work on newbuild projects, it has been clear for sometime that nuclear companies and thegovernment need to invest in a range of

qualications and training opportunities

both to entice people into the industryand to develop the skills of those alreadyworking within the industry. As a result, ahuge amount of development work has

already taken place in recent years withmore ongoing.

Clive Smith works as SkillsDevelopment Director for Nuclearat Cogent, the Sector Skills Councilfor Nuclear. Hes been working onjob contexts for the nuclear industr yto provide employers with a basis fordeveloping competency frameworksand training needs. We realised that

the Ofce for National Statistics was

not capturing all the relevant labour

market information for nuclear so webegan to work on contexts to esh out

our descriptions of the different rolesavailable.

This work has clearly been useful

in many ways to those looking forwork, current industry employees andemployers, but it has also resulted in the

Nuclear Skills Passport a database thatemployers are able to use to track stafftraining. It is par ticular ly useful for largercompanies with employees who workacross several sites as it avoids repetitionof training. For example, an employeemay have completed induction trainingat one plant, making it unnecessary tocomplete the same course at anothersite. However, it can be difcult to prove

that this is the case, meaning employeesmay end up repeating training

unnecessarily.The job contexts project does notcurrently explicitly cover quality-relatedroles and Clive believes that quality hadnot been seen as such a priority in theindustry, but new build projects and theneed to develop an associated supplychain is changing the industr ys attitudetowards qual ity. Clive is now working toestablish a group of nuclear professionalsto create job contexts for qual ity-relatedroles, plus he has a bigger outcomein mind. As Clive asks, Why cant we

ultimately establish standards that applyto the industr y as a whole?

The next generation

The nuclear sector has already begunto move in the right direction when itcomes to attracting new entrants. Backin 2002, a report commissioned by theHealth and Safety Executive stated: ifnuclear education were a patient in ahospital it would be in intensive care. Itcalled for immediate action to improve

the state of nuclear education in theUK, with a focus on the developmentof postgraduate courses in particular.Ten years on, the nuclear educationlandscape has been transformed.

tehna k an beaqued, bu beng abe oao ou appoah o wokwh deen peope n avae o uaon va


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In 2004, a group called the NuclearTechnology Education Consortium(NTEC) was formed. Originallyconsisting of 11 higher educationorganisations, the group worked toprovide over 20 possible Masters levelcourses in one NTEC programme.Designed to meet the needs of bothfull and par t-time students, it wasguided by the nuclear industry and itsneeds. Numbers of students on NTEC-

designed courses have been growingyear on year. Since 2009, some moduleshave been converted into a distance-learning format, more suitable for thosealready working full-time in the industry

or wishing to move across to nuclear.At the same time, many nuclear

companies, including Sellaeld Ltd and

EDF Energy, are investing heavily in

apprentices and graduates. At Sellaeld,

the decision was taken to recruit schoolleavers as apprentices something thecompany hadnt done for a long timeand there are now around 24 schoolleavers on design programmes. Thecompany has also renewed its focus on

professional qualications, encouragingemployees to work towards CharteredQuality Professional (CQP) status as wellas other Chartered equivalents.

Sellaeld Ltd Head of Quality,

Howard Cooper, is a strong advocate

for appropriate quality qualications.

Over the past 12 to 18 months, hesbeen focused on stabilising training and

competency requirements at Sellaeld

and upskilling existing personnel.Next, he plans to focus on improvingrecruitment and training, with theultimate goal of creating a nuclear qualityacademy.

He says: I want to educate the

next generation of nuclear qualityprofessionals and give them the skills andsupport they need to deliver. My nextchallenge is freeing up the people whoare currently on the front line and have

10 QUESTiOnS TO ASk AbOUT A TrAininG COUrSE

How much does the course cost and are any bursaries, grants or otherdiscounts available?

When does the course begin and end, whats the class size and how is it assessed?

Is the course predominantly theoretical, historical or practical?

Is the course accredited by an industry body and, if so, which one?

What qualication, if any, is attached to the course?

How much is taught by practising professionals in the nuclear industry?

Does the course include any practical work experience and, if so, where andfor how long?Does the curriculum cover the practical skills and context you will need (for

example, will an audit course cover how to deal with various situations you mightencounter as well as discussing the standards you will need to know to audit)?What equipment, if any, is used on this course? How much is available, how oldis it, and how many students share it?

What do people who have completed the course go on to do?

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Pathways into quality

the experience, wisdom and knowledgeneeded to train this new generation.

Over at EDF Energy, 3.5m hasalready been invested in a custom-designed nuclear academy inGloucestershire. Training up to 2,500people annually at all levels up tograduate, the academy offers everythingfrom in-house training for existingemployees to introductory training forengineers who are just starting out intheir careers.

In 2008, the company also launchedits advanced nuclear apprentice scheme.Whereas previously each of its eightstations had run their own scheme,a common scheme was introduced

two years ago. This is residentia l,with apprentices aged between 16and 25 living at a military base whilestudying at the marine engineeringtraining establishment HMS Sultannear Portsmouth. After two years, theapprentices go back to their own powerstation, completing an NVQ level 3 inmechanical or electrical engineering orcontrol and instrumentation.

EDF Energy Apprentice Coordinator,

Faye Cook, said that the scheme benets

the candidates and the business equally.The commitment from EDF and the

apprentices is signicant but rewarding

for both. I see them develop over theyears from young adults into matureresponsible technicians who are a creditto themselves and the company.

Continuing Professional

Development

And what is happening arounddevelopment for those already in theindustry or seeking to move make

a move across from another sector?In 2007 at BAE Systems Maritime Submarine, Director of Quality IanMitchell started to focus on how bestto develop quality capabilities withinhis team. He chose to work with CQIto increase levels of quality knowledgeand professionalism both throughencouraging his team to apply for CQImembership and the development ofcustomised training courses deliveredby CQI trainers. This was par ticularly

important, as the companys location inBarrow-in-Furness can make it difcult

to access educational programmes.Now, all employees in the quality

function complete set three-day

CQi TrAininGThe CQI provides short training courses in the key aspects of quality

management. All training courses are relevant to you if are in a quality

management position: many are relevant to absolutely everyone in

organisations as they provide key tools to enable you to design,

measure and improve the way you work.

Find out more about CQI Training at www.thecqi.org/training

The CQI Certicate of Training in Quality Management Practices provides a

planned and balanced programme of learning and is also a rst step on the

way to becoming a CQI Chartered Quality Professional.

GETTinG QUALiiEDThe CQI also offers a range of professional qualications delivered through

CQI approved education centres. You can study par t-time, through distance

learning, using exible learning opportunities and via private providers.

Our qualications include

Level 3 Introductory:

Certicate in Quality Management

Level 5 Advanced:

Certicate in Systems Management

Certicate in Assuring Service and Product Quality

Certicate in Managing Supply Chain Quality

Certicate in Quality Improvement for Business

Certicate in Quality Management Systems Audit

Diploma in Quality Management

Find out more about CQI Qualications at www.thecqi.org/qualications

GETTinG rECOGniSEDOnce you have embarked on learning through CQI training or qualications

you have the opportunity for your quality management, assurance or

improvement skills to be recognised through membership of the CQI.

This will provide you with access to the range of membership resources

and provide you with enhanced recognition with employers.

Find out more about CQI Membership at www.thecqi.org/membership


21/32


modules along with assignments,exams and other methods of continualassessment. This leads to the awardof the CQIs Certicate of Training in

Quality Management Practices. When an

employee has also gained ve years of

experience in a quality-related role, heor she also becomes eligible to apply forChartered membership of the CQI.

Ian says: When we started theprogramme, we only had one CharteredQuality Professional within the team, butnow we have 16 and one team memberhas achieved Fellow status. I expect tosee another 12 or so become Charteredin 2012.

There is no doubt that this has

raised the prole of quality within thebusiness as well as giving individualsstatus and professional recognition. CQIhas done a lot of good work for us.

Another initiative designed to equipindividuals with the skills required fora role in the nuclear industry, whetherthey are already employed in nuclearor moving across from another sector,is the new Certicate of Nuclear

Professionalism programme, developedby the National Skills Academy for

Nuclear and the Open University withinvolvement from industry and otherhigher education bodies. It incorporatesseven training modules deliveredthrough employer-accredited training/learning, distance learning and traditionaltaught lessons, while building onemployer workshops hosted by the SkillsAcademy and facilitated by Craneld

University.

This year, the rst cohor t of students

passed through one of the certicates

modules at Aston Business School. The

module on technical leadership exposedstudents to the issues, implications andinterdependencies involved in leadinga team to design and commission atechnical solution by consider ing a casestudy which ran throughout the module.This helped to develop an awareness ofwhat is involved in the role of technicalleader and an introduction to the toolsand techniques needed to navigatethrough a relevant industr y situation.

Martin Field, Executive Development

Director, Aston Business School says:The participants who were fromvarious levels within and externalto industry really enjoyed the highinteractivity of the module and the

collaboration between each other.Bunmi Titiloye, who was par t of the

rst cohort of students, agrees. Being

a potential new entrant to the nuclearsector, the case studies used on thetechnical leadership module gave mea clear understanding of the different

stakeholders involved in the industry,their points of view and how to guidenuclear processes involving the multiplestakeholders with sometimes variedagendas to a suitable conclusion.

Your future

It is clear that there are many differentpathways into a career in qualitymanagement in the nuclear industry,plus with the promise of new buildopportunities, there has never been a

better time to consider developing yourskills or moving into a career in thissector. And whichever route you choose,there wil l always be something new tolearn.

In my career, Ive worked acrossmany different areas of quality within thenuclear industry. The skills of a qualityprofessional can be useful in manydifferent roles, says Mike Underwood,Senior Quality Consultant at MagnoxNorth.

Paul Murphy, Management Systemsand Business Continuity Manager atDounreay, is also enthusiastic aboutthe sheer range of skills that qualityprofessionals are asked to develop.

He says: Quality professionals getto work across the whole companyand gain an insight into the differentprocesses and activities in operation.In nuclear, you can acquire a workingknowledge of a power station combinedwith specialist quality knowledge and its

absolutely fascinating to nd out howeverything works together.

USEUL LinkSThe Certicate of Nuclear Professionalism is a higher education programme

for professionals working in the nuclear industr y.

www.nuclear.nsacademy.co.uk/products-services/certicate-nuclear-professionalism

Cogents online Qualications and Standards Prospectus allows the user to nd

out about all the qualications, apprenticeships and training standards available

in nuclear.

www.cogent-prospectus.comNuclear Liaison contains information on all undergraduate and postgraduatetaught nuclear courses in the UK as well as major research groups andconsortia. To help graduates, there are also links to company graduate trainingschemes and summer placements.

www.nuclearliaison.com

Nuclear Skills Passport is a system that offers all nuclear organisationsinstant secure web access to information on the nuclear skills base, offeringa detailed overview of the training completed by their workforce as wellas contracting organisations. For contractors, it provides a simple, highly

secure method of aiding in the demonstration of Suitably Qualied and

Experienced Person (SQEP).www.nuclearskillspassport.co.uk.

The Nuclear Technology Energy Consortium of UK universities and otherorganisations provides postgraduate education in nuclear science andtechnology.

www.ntec.ac.uk


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CQI and Nuclear

ThE CQi AnD ThEnUCLEAr SECTOrWhether youre new to qualitymanagement or considering a moveinto a quality role in the nuclear

sector, the CQI is the place to start.Get professional recognition, accessto networking opportunities via the

CQI Nuclear Special Interest Groupand local CQI branch events, plus

knowledge resources, discountson training courses and a range ofadditional benets.

And if youre an employer of qualityprofessionals in the nuclear sector, getin touch to nd out how the CQI cansupport career development in yourorganisation. Your company can joinCQI as an organisational member andwe can help with customised in-housetraining courses and qualications tohelp your people to develop the skills

you need to succeed as a business.

The CQI Nuclear Special

Interest Group (NucSIG)

The CQI NucSIG offers signicant

support to quality professionals withinnuclear. With 300 members, it isopen to quality, safety and regulatoryprofessionals including operators,construction personnel, regulators,service providers, consultants,

certication body personnel and

government personnel.The groups vision is to be recognised

as improving quality within the nuclearindustry through the development of thecapability of quality professionals in thenuclear sector. It works hard to providea network to support best practicesharing and benchmarking, supportthe professional development of itsmembers and to represent the interestsof members in the nuclear sectorthrough the CQI.

Geoff Edmondson, FCQI CQP, isChair of the CQI NucSIG. He says: Ourmain aim is to offer networking andopportunities to share experience andknowledge. Since the group launched in

2008, we have run a series of successfulevents, published the Nuclear QualityKnowledge document as an introductionto the industr y and established an activeLinkedIn group: Nuclear Special InterestGroup (NucSIG).

As our membership has grown andwe have continued to receive good

feedback, we are now looking at thepossibility of offering training and evenmentoring opportunities. Why not joinus and extend your network of qualityprofessionals in nuclear?

CQI membership

As an employer of quality professionalsin nuclear, Ian Mitchell, Director ofQuality at BAE Systems Maritime Submarine, sees CQI membership as aclear indicator of competence.

Seeing that a potential employeehas CQI membership gives us theknowledge that he or she has anunderstanding of the fundamentalsof quality. The membership process isrigorous so we know that this personhas achieved a certain level and standardwithin quality.

As well as visibly demonstrating yourcompetence and ability to positivelyimpact an organisations capabilityto deliver quality and improvement,each type of CQI membership has

a range of benets designed to helpyou get the most out of being part ofthe quality management profession. Itenhances your status with colleaguesand employers alike and helps you stayahead of the competition in your career.

As Ken Flatters, MCQI CQP, says:CQI membership demonstrates thatI have a range of competences at mydisposal, gained both through academicstudy and on-the-job experience. Putsimply, it helps my chances of getting

employment.

Which grade is right for you?Membership grades are awarded ona combination of experience and

qualications and are designed to

recognise your impact as a qualityprofessional and help support yourjourney to becoming a Char teredQuality Professional. As you progressin your career, you can apply for thenext grade to ensure your level always

reects your current position.

Associate ACQI Practitioner PCQI

Member, Chartered Quality

Professional MCQI CQP

Fellow, Chartered Quality Professional

FCQI CQP

CQI qualifcations

Thousands of quality professionalshave taken the CQIs qualications.

As the only nationally accreditedquality awarding body in the UK, the

CQI believes education allows you toachieve your full potential through theacquisition of knowledge.

Yvonne Mahaffy, ACQI, says: I haveprogressed from Admin Trainee through

to Lead Quality Engineer at Sellaeld

Ltd. This journey has taken 21 yearsand has been achieved as a result of mydedication to Continual ProfessionalDevelopment. I enjoyed learning aboutthe elements of quality via the CQIDiploma course .

CQI trainingThe CQI also offers a range of publictraining courses as well as in-companytraining that can be tailored to yourrequirements. CQI members receive20% discount on CQI training courses.

IRCA

The International Register of Certicated

Auditors (IRCA) is the worlds original

and largest international certication

body for auditors of management

systems. If you audit management systemsin the nuclear industry, nd out how you

can get your competence recognised

through auditor certication at

www.irca.org



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Information

Nuclear Quality KnowledgeSpecically targeted at those new to

working in quality management withinthe nuclear sector, the Nuclear QualityKnowledge document was published inSeptember 2011 by the CQI NucSIG. Itcovers all the main topics that you need

to know about in one PDF. It is free todownload from www.thecqi.org/nuclear

CQI Body of Quality KnowledgeConsult the CQI Body of QualityKnowledge for information on just aboutevery facet of quality management itcan help individual quality professionalsto assess their skills and serve as thebasis of a competency framework forquality roles for employers.www.thecqi.org/Knowledge-Hub/

Knowledge-portal

QualityworldQW is the CQIs monthly membershipmagazine. Already the UKs leadingindependent quality publication, it aims tobe the worlds main source of up-to-dateinformation on the world of quality andits latest tools and techniques.www.thecqi.org/qualityworld

CQI blogRead the latest updates from CQI CEO

Simon Feary on topics key to qualitywww.thecqi.info

QW ExpressMore than 16,500 quality professionalsworldwide currently receive QW Express,the monthly e-newsletter from the CQI.Packed full of expert opinions on thequality industrys hot topics, it brings youthe latest news on quality every month.www.thecqi.org/QW-express

CPD UpdateSent monthly to CQI members, thisemail update covers all the latest CQImembership, networking and trainingopportunities.


updateCPDDevelopingyour potential

NUCLEARSIG


24/32

Employer prole

EMPlOyEr PrOilE

Quality is a vital part of Sellaeld Ltds

business. While there are many facetsand aspects to the delivery of quality,those that are fundamental to both thesuccess and failure of quality are theperformance and behaviour of people.All our staff are professional, dedicatedand strive to continually improve qualityacross our sites.

Whatever we do on site reprocessing, waste management,

nance or training is underpinnedby quality. Delivery of quality is theresponsibility of every employee.

We have put into place simple andeffective management systems that

govern all aspects of our businessand ensure we have a workforcethat is quality aware. Plant operator s

are managed by a rigorous system

of suitably qualied and experienced

people.

Sellaeld Ltd has held ISO 9001

certication since 1994 and we work

in accordance with the requirements ofthis standard and IAEA GS-R-3.

Training and development

Sellaeld Ltds performance

management process enablesemployees and their managers toreview their role, expectations,performance, behaviour and

development oppor tunities. Employeeshave clear and documented job rolesand responsibilities with clear links tocompany objectives. This process givesemployees the opportunity to discuss


sEllAiElD ltD

We enouage peope oaheve chaeed QuaPoeona auHowad coope,

Head o Qua

Aerial vi ew of SellaeldCourtesy of Sellaeld


25/32

their future career path.Employees also receive a detailed

site induction programme and safety

tra ining on joining Sellaeld Ltd.

Training includes a range of technicaland behavioural and leadership trainingprogrammes as appropriate to suppor tthe par ticular job role . Every employeehas a performance management

agreement and development plan.High achievers are developed

through the companys talent pool

part of Sellaeld Ltds talent

management process. Followingnominations from line managers andendorsement at employee developmentgroups, employees go through aselection process to get involved inthe scheme , a structured two-yearprogramme of accelerated personaldevelopment and mentoring. During

this period, employees wi ll work onsite-wide projects and also communityprojects where appropriate.

A dedicated head of profession forquality, Howard Cooper, is accountablefor maintaining and developing thehealth of the quality community acrossour organisation.

The quality community

Sellaeld Ltd shares best practice with

other industries and organisations,working with quality organisations such

as the British Quality Foundation andthe CQI. Sel laeld Ltd as a company

is a member of both the BQF and the

CQI. We benet from benchmarking

opportunities within the BQF networkand, over the past three years inpartnership with the CQI, we haverun extremely successful businessexcellence events promoting thepositive impact quality roles have in thenuclear industry and celebrating WorldQuality Day.

The company promotes individualCQI membership to employeesand supports employees personaldevelopment through the grades ofprofessional quality recognition. Howard

Cooper, Head of Quality, conrms: We

encourage people to achieve CharteredQuality Professional status or

equivalent Char tered qualications. The

competency requirements as laid out inthe CQIs Body of Quality Knowledgealso offer a useful means of establishingand testing skillsets.

We encourage employees to

attend CQI training programmes to

share best practice and benet from

networking opportunities with otherquality professionals. We also suggest

that employees might join the CQIsNuclear Special Interest Group and ourHead of Quality, Howard Cooper, is arepresentative on its Steering Group.


QUiCk OvErviEW: SELLAiELD LTDLocation

The company has sites at Sellaeld in Cumbria and Capenhurst in Cheshire, as

well as an extensive engineering design capability based at Risley in Warrington.

Number of employees

9,500 (more than 10,000 if agency and contract supplied workers are included)

Number of vacancies (annually)

Around 10 in quality roles. Typical quality roles available: Process engineering,environmental management, auditing, project management.

Starting salary/benefts

Commensurate with a competitive, global organisation, Sellaeld Ltd offers

employees the rewards they would expect. These include attractive starting

salaries, performance-related pay and bonuses, regular salary reviews, acombined nuclear pension plan, annual bonus and staff discount schemes.

Major clients/partners

Sellaeld Ltd is responsible for safely delivering decommissioning, reprocessing

and nuclear waste management activities on behalf of the NuclearDecommissioning Authority (NDA). Now under the ownership of NuclearManagement Partners (NMP), Sellaeld Ltd has the largest concentration

of nuclear expertise in Europe, with more than 50 years of experience.NMP brings together the global nuclear experience of American companyURS, British company AMEC and French company Areva to deliver the safe

acceleration of hazard and risk reduction across Sellaeld Ltd.

Areas of work

Due to the diverse nature of Sellaeld Ltd, activities include the support of

decommissioning, reprocessing and nuclear waste management activities,including engineering, environmental, and project management work.

Graduate scheme

The Sellaeld Ltd Graduate Development Scheme is a two-year structured

programme aimed at developing individuals both at a personal level and abusiness level. Graduates are supported and expected to gain Chartered statuswithin their relevant professional discipline, as well as being encouraged togo on secondment to other companies and departments across the nuclearindustry.

Work experience offered

Work experience places are offered in a wide range of disciplines includingcommercial disciplines, physics, chemistry, civil, mechanical, electrical andchemical engineering, project management and environmental management.

www.sellaeldsites.com/careers


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Employer prole

EDF Energy is one of the UKs largestenergy companies, producing aroundone-sixth of the nations electricityfrom its nuclear power stations, windfarms, coal and gas power stationsand combined heat and power plants.The safe and secure operation of eightexisting nuclear power stations at sites

across the country makes EDF Energythe UKs largest generator of low-carbonelectricity.

We have also published plans to

build four new nuclear plants, subject tothe right investment framework. Thesenew plants could generate enoughlow carbon electricity for about 40%of Britains homes, as well as creatingaround 1,400 directly employedpermanent jobs for more than 60 yearsand thousands of direct and indirect jobsover the construction period.

Quality

Ruma Deb is Head of Quality for EDFEnergy Nuclear Generation. She says:

Nuclear safety is our overriding prior ityand this is true for all aspects of EDFEnergy Nuclear Generation. We applydifferent levels of control to differentprocesses depending on the safety

signicance and risk associated with each

process to ensure we target and focuson key areas.

The quality of our product electricity is never in question, asif we do not satisfy electricity gridrequirements; we are unable to transmit

our product. However, attention toquality in planning, operation andmaintenance enables us to consistentlymeet the grid requirements as planned.

Good quality contributes to

a safe and successful business,regulatory compliance and continuousimprovement. We cant afford not tohave good quality!

Commitment to training

EDF Energy has developed a mix oftraining programmes based on a range

of learning methods. Training centresinclude nuclear power station controlroom simulators and offer purpose-builtworkshops where trainees can learnabout control and instrumentation andreceive electrical and mechanical training.

At the heart of this investment intraining is a 3.5m Nuclear PowerAcademy, opened in May 2008.This academy forms part of ourcommitment to creating world-leadingnuclear professionals and maintaining

the technical capability of the EDFworkforce, while being an active part ofthe wider focus in the UK on the nuclearskills agenda and training for nuclearpower.

When it comes to quality assurance ,we believe it is best achieved by peoplewith a clear understanding of therequirements needing to be satised.

Ruma explains: To achieve goodquality, we need people with clearresponsibilities, accountabilities andauthority, the right level of competence

and a good questioning attitude basedon sound judgement and commonsense. They also need to use theappropriate methods of working and theright tools and equipment.

To be most effective, people need tobe provided with necessary resourcesand a working environment appropriateto the task. Training is extremelyimportant. As well as formal training,there is also on-the-job training before

qualication. Independent verication is

used on an ongoing basis to ensure ahigh standard is maintained. Membershipof institutes such as the CQI is alsoencouraged to aid sharing of new ideasand best practice.


Membehp o nue,uh a he cQi, ao en-ouaged o ad hang onew dea and be pae

EMPlOyEr PrOilEED ENErGy

Sizewell B in Suffolk

Courtesy of EDF Energy


27/32

QUiCk OvErviEW: ED

LocationCurrently operates eight nuclear power stations witha combined capacity of almost 9,000 megawatts:Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B, Dungeness B, Hartlepool,Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Torness and Sizewell B. Plans toconstruct four new power stations across the UK.

Number of employees

Around 15,000 at locations across the UK.Starting salary/benets: Competitive salary and generous

holiday entitlement as well as a nal salary pension

scheme, healthcare scheme, discretionary bonus plan and

a package of exible benets.


EDF is the ofcial energy utilities partner and

sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympicand Paralympic Games. The company also won theUKs largest ever electricity supply contract by annualvolume following a successful tender process run by theGovernment Procurement Service in 2011.From April 2012, EDF Energy will supply electricity andenergy related additional goods, works and servicesto the NHS, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice,Metropolitan Police, London Underground, the Highways

Agency and other bodies across central and localgovernment.

Areas of workOperation of eight nuclear power plants and plansfor nuclear new build. It is likely that there will beopportunities to develop your career in this directionas this business unit expands.

Graduate scheme

Schemes in nuclear science and engineering as well as foranalysts, business project analysts, human factors, humanresources, nance and marketing. The nuclear graduate

scheme runs for 12 months and graduates spend

time at the Barnwood ofce in Gloucester as well as

experiencing placements at two of EDFs power stations.

The schemes will reopen for entry in autumn 2012.

Work experience offered

Industrial placements are aimed at undergraduateswho can work full-time for 12 months as part of theiruniversity course. These are paid placements and youcan apply to work in nuclear science and engineeringas well as other areas such as business managementand technology, supply chain, brand group, sustainabilityand health and safety. The schemes reopen for entry inautumn 2012. EDF Energy also offers summer internshipsin nuclear science and engineering as well as six-month

internships in a range of areas.

www.edfenergy.com/careers


Hinkley Point B in Somerset

Courtesy of EDF Energy


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Employer prole

EMPlOyEr PrOilE

AWE plays a crucial role in the defenceof the United Kingdom, by providing

and maintaining the warheads for thecountr ys nuclear deterrent. We are

a centre of scientic, engineering and

technological excellence, with someof the most advanced research, designand production facilities in the world.Our unique expertise also assists theUK Government in developing anddelivering a range of innovative andintegrated support services, includingnational nuclear security and counter-terror ism solutions.

As a nuclear licensed site, maintainingexceptional safety, security,environmental and quality standardsis at the heart of everything we do.At any one time, we could have around10,000 people across our three sites,so embedding quality has to be partof our business culture. Getting thisculture and approach implementedacross AWE has come to mean movingto a total quality mindset. AWE hasadopted a way of working and a set

of attitudes, behaviours, tools andtechniques to suppor t and developquality and make it part of business asusual.

AWE is a CQI Company Member

and AWE employees are act ive in theirlocal CQI branches and within the CQINucSIG. When it comes to celebratingWorld Quali ty Day, AWE has alsorun a series of successful events,providing an excellent oppor tunity topromote quality within the company assomething that affects us all in our day-to-day lives and not just those who are

in a quality role.At AWE, quality roles are regularly

available across the company. To nd

out about current opportunities, justvisit our website www.awe.co.uk

Training and development

Across AWE, developing your abi lities isa real prior ity. We have an unwaveringcommitment to safety so youllreceive plenty of practical training andeducation in this area.

The detail of your development planwill depend on the area you join, yourambitions and business needs. Where

appropriate, we may fund professionalqualications. For instance, quality

professionals from across AWE havepreviously studied for the CQI Diplomain Quality Management (NVQ level 5),


AWE p

BritishCrownOwnedCopyright2012/AWE


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run in partnership with BirminghamCity University and AWE ProductionOperations.

Professional recognitionWe recognise the impor tance ofprofessional membership, both forour employees and our organisationas a whole . They under line our

technical capabilit ies and demonstrateour commitment to professionalstandards. AWE will also pay for yourmembership of up to two relevant

professional bodies every year: theCQI could be one of them. In fact, theCQI is already well represented atAWE with a membership in excess of60 quality professionals from across all

areas of the business.Neville Rogers, MCQI CQP, says:

AWE has a long association with theCQI and we are very keen to see

the CQI suppor t the developmentof quality professionals in ourorganisation and across the industry toprovide recognisable and transferableskills.


QUiCk OvErviEW: AWE lcLocation

The company has two major sites in Berkshire: AWE

Aldermaston and AWE Burgheld. There is a further

facility where seismological research is undertaken insupport of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Areas of work

AWE employs around 4,500 staff and over 2,000contractors, whose work covers a vast range ofdisciplines. We employ scientists, engineers, technicians,crafts-people, quality, security and safety specialists, aswell as business and administrative experts many of

whom are leaders in their eld.

Starting salary/beneftsAWE applies a pay and grading framework acrossthe entire company thats designed to make sureall employees are recognised and rewarded for thecontribution they make and the skills and experience

they bring. Benets include 28 days holiday, nal salary

pension scheme and others.


AWE is contracted to the Ministry of Defence (MOD)through a government-owned / contractor operated(GOCO) arrangement. While our sites and facilities

remain in government ownership, their management,day-to-day operations and the maintenance of Britainsnuclear stockpile is contracted to a private company:AWE Management Limited (AWE ML). AWE ML isformed of three equal shareholders:

Serco an international service company thatimproves the quality and efciency of essential

services to millions of people around the world

Lockheed Martin a global company that employsabout 126,000 people worldwide. Principally engagedin the research, design, development, manufacture,

integration and sustainment of advanced technologysystems, products and services

Jacobs Engineering Group providers of industrialmaintenance, fabrication, construction andmaintenance management technology to primaryprocess industries

AWE plc is the company that AWE ML has delegatedto deliver the contract. It employs the workforce,maintains the nuclear site operating licences anddischarge authorisations, and its directors have totalresponsibility for the day-to-day management andoperations.

The MOD, apart from being our customer, has a keeninterest in AWE plc and monitors our operationsand performance, and along with other regulatorsand legislative bodies assures high safety and securitystandards are maintained at all times.

AWE requires substantial provision of works, goods andservices from the supply chain in other words, weprocure thousands of products and services every year.This means that we do business with a wide range ofsuppliers who must meet our requirements in a timelyand cost effective manner.

AWE also has a strong Technical Outreach programmewhich is at the core of developing our relationshipwith the UKs science, engineering and technologycommunity. Through our links with institutions suchas universities, professional bodies and government

agencies, we can build upon and share knowledge formutual benet.

Graduates

AWE has opportunities for degree, MSc and PhDgraduates from science, engineering, business andassurance disciplines. Applications are acceptedthroughout the year.

Apprenticeships

You can apply for an apprenticeship at AWE in fourtechnical areas: electronics, electrical maintenance,mechanical maintenance and precision machining.

Apprenticeships last three or four years and whicheverroute you take, youll also attend a technical college whereyou can study for anything from a diploma in engineering

to a BTEC national certicate or possibly an HNC.

www.awe.co.uk/careers/Careers_AWE_0fbdf.html


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Links and resources


WhErE nExT?liNKs AND rEsOUrcEs

cQi ViDEOsFind out more about quality managementand the nuclear sector with the shortvideos on the CQI Web Manager

YouTube channel.www.youtube.com/cqiwebmanager

liNKEDiNKey LinkedIn groups

CQI United Kingdom

Nuclear Special Interest Group

(NucSIG) Matchtech: Power and Nuclear

Nuclear Power the next generation

Nuclear Safety

UK Nuclear Industry

tWittErSome key Twitter accounts

IAEA Nuclear Sciences and Applications,

securing a better future for all with nucleartechnologies

@IAEANA

National Skills Academy for Nuclear ,developing and promoting excellence

in skills for the nuclear industry

@NSA_Nuclear

QualityworldAll the latest news and

talking points in quality

from the only UK monthlymagazine dedicated to

entirely to quality

@Qualityworld

QUAlityWOrlDYou can use the QW site to read aboutquality topics, best practice and the latestnews. CQI members can also gain access

to previous ar ticles from 2008 onwards.www.thecqi.org/qualityworld


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trADE AssOciAtiONsInternational Atomic Energy Agency

(IAEA)

www.iaea.or.at

Nuclear Industry Association (NIA)

www.niauk.org

The Nuclear Institute (NI)

www.nuclearinst.com

World Association of Nuclear Operators(WANO)www.wano.org.uk

QUAlityJOBsQuality Jobs

www.qualityjobs.org.uk

JOiN tHE cQi HErEs HOWTheres a level of membership suitable whereveryou are in your career. For further information please

visit www.thecqi.org/membership or T: 020 7245 6722

QW ExPrEssGet news, interviews and thelatest jobs in QW Express,the free monthly email

www.thecqi.org/QW-express


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