Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor Vol. 20 No. 20
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Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor
Article 6 of 13
May 13, 2016

DOE Provides $5M Grant to Boost SRS Workforce

By Staff Reports

A regional group that supports job creation near the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., was recently given $1 million to help fill future workforce needs at the site. The Department of Energy announced Monday that the grant totals $5 million that will be rationed out over five years. The money falls under the Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers (WORC) program, which is designed to attract and prepare students for careers in the nuclear industry. The announcement comes weeks after site contractors spoke about their aging workforces and the upcoming needs to fill positions.

The grant will be carried out by the Energy Department and the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO), an Aiken-based group that supports job growth in several counties that border the site: Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties in South Carolina and Richmond and Columbia counties in Georgia. The WORC program involves Aiken Technical College, Augusta Technical College, Augusta University, University of South Carolina Aiken, and University of South Carolina Salkehatchie degree programs directly related to the industry.

Funding will be used to enhance nuclear science education programs at these schools that will teach students the skills needed to support DOE Environmental Management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions, according to the SRSCRO.The group stated in a press release that SRS, along with multiple nuclear power plants in the region, will need technicians, engineers, mechanics, welders, and several other types of workers. SRSCRO Chairman Sanford Loyd said in the release that the grant should provide a steady supply of SRS workers for many years. “There are a lot of jobs to fill over the next 5 years, and we’d like to fill them with local residents,” he added.

To his point, the site’s two largest contractors, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) and Savannah River Remediation (SRR), last month reported upcoming workforce needs to the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB). SRNS, the site’s management and operations contractor, reported that, as of April 30, it had 4,894 employees, more than 1,400 of whom were eligible to retire this year. By 2022, SRNS projects that 59 percent of current workforce will be eligible for retirement. Meanwhile, SRR, the liquid waste contractor, reported nearly 1,100 of its 2,163 workers are above age 50 and that the average age of an SRR employee is 52. The contractor also reported that 669 workers are currently eligible for retirement with full or reduced benefits and another 1,007 will be eligible over the next five years.

Rick McLeod, SRSCRO executive director, added that the group’s recent Regional Workforce Study concluded that the local area, including SRS, will have 37,000 job openings in the next five years. About 80 percent of those positions will be replacement jobs, he said. “Within three to five years, due to the aging workforce there, we expect to see up to 50 percent of SRS workers reach retirement eligibility. This could mean 3,000 replacement workers or more just at SRS,” McLeod said. He added that the need for jobs is a trend across the DOE complex and referenced employment needs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The national lab is expected to hire at least 2,000 workers in the next four years, according to McLeod.

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NEW: Via public records request, I’ve been able to confirm reporting today that a warrant has been issued for DOE deputy asst. secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition Sam Brinton for another luggage theft, this time at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid airport. (cc: @EMPublications)

DOE spent fuel lead Brinton accused of second luggage theft.



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