Our Strategy

Creating the nuclear workforce through enabling skills and education provision

The National College for Nuclear (NCfN) was established by government in 2016 to ensure that nuclear employers responsible for nuclear operations and decommissioning, major project delivery and waste management, have access to quality skills and education provision tailored to industry needs. The NCfN aims to develop and maintain scarce and specialist skills ensuring that capability is available both now, and in the future, leveraging vocational routes to higher education.

NCfN operates a network of approved providers who all deliver curriculum under the NCfN brand. This assures a quality product, both teaching and curriculum content, giving employers the confidence to invest in their workforce, enabling them to proactively respond to and meet the demands of a changing environment.

We work closely with nuclear employers and other skills bodies to understand current and future skill needs. We also understand the skills landscape and look for emerging trends in skills delivery, market demand and scarcity at a national level so that we can be responsive to change. We then work with our Further and Higher Education Approved Provider network to provide industry with access to quality education and upskilling.

We will continue to go from strength to strength by working with employers and our founding partners to develop and deliver critical skills for the industry.

    Our strategic drivers

    In this ever-changing environment, we need to continue to evolve our mission to meet the needs of the landscape and so our strategic focus areas take account of the changing landscape and the UK’s Net Zero commitment.

    Our main strategic drivers are:

    • The expanding role of nuclear in the UK, both decommissioning, new build, and the advancement of new technology such as Small Modular Reactors and Fusion
    • The Government’s commitment to a Net Zero economy by 2050 and the recognised part that nuclear plays in delivering that commitment
    • The Government’s ‘10 point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’
    • The increased understanding and the prominence of sustainability in industry strategies
    • The competition for skilled workers in the UK labour market
    • The ambition to reinvigorate the employment market through building technical skills through vocational training

    Our strategic themes

    Our strategic themes

    More information

    For more information on our strategy, please click here.