nucleareurope participates in Belgian Nuclear Society conference on the nuclear workforce

On 23 October 2025, nucleareurope Communications and Advocacy Director Jessica Johnson participated in a Brussels-held conference organised by the Belgian Nuclear Society (BNS), which explored pathways to rebuild the nuclear workforce. The conference provided an overview of skills related initiatives in Belgium and Europe, bringing together government officials, industrial stakeholders, trade association representatives and academics.

As part of the event, Jessica intervened in a panel discussion to provide a European perspective on the topic of nuclear skills. In her intervention, she highlighted that based on current projections, installed nuclear capacity in the EU could reach around 150 Gigawatt (GW) by 2050, with a mix of lifetime extension of currently operating reactors, large nuclear new build, as well as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs). She added that regardless of the technologies chosen, many of the skills needs will be the same.

“Workforce needs are not only similar for various nuclear technologies, but also across a wide range of sectors” stressed Jessica, noting that workforce shortages concerned many cross-sectoral professions, such as construction workers. She further insisted on the importance of collaboration to tackle these challenges, and the need to stop working in silos on these transversal issues.

Jessica then noted that governments also need to support skills related initiatives, such as the development of national nuclear workforce assessments, which will ultimately provide a better overview of the skills needed across European member States. She concluded her intervention by reiterating the need for cooperation with other actors beyond the nuclear industry, such as downstream users, other  industrial sectors facing similar challenges, and investors who can provide information on what they consider to be an investable project.