{"id":7794,"date":"2026-04-17T13:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T04:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/?p=7794"},"modified":"2026-04-17T13:05:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T04:05:45","slug":"workforce-challenges-and-future-prospects-for-the-nuclear-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/news\/industry\/7794","title":{"rendered":"Workforce Challenges and Future Prospects for the Nuclear Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the outset, moderator OBARA Toru<\/span><\/span>, Professor at the Laboratory for Zero-Carbon Energy, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo, pointed out that since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011<\/span><\/span>, the halt in new nuclear build in Japan has made it increasingly difficult to secure human resources. At the same time, the aging and retirement of experienced personnel have raised concerns over the transfer of technical knowledge. Looking ahead to the lead time required for new construction, he emphasized the urgent need to develop and secure human resources in coordination with the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Olivier BARD<\/span><\/span>, CEO of the French Nuclear Industry Association (GIFEN)<\/span><\/span>, explained that in France, approximately 10,000 additional workers per year will be required over the next decade to support the country\u2019s large-scale nuclear expansion program. However, he noted that no shortage of applicants has emerged, thanks to the government\u2019s clear roadmap. He also highlighted efforts to strengthen workforce development through education systems aligned with industry needs and through mentor training programs to enhance skills and retention.<\/p>\n

Erin HULTMAN<\/span><\/span>, Senior Vice President, Member and Corporate Services & Chief Financial Officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)<\/span><\/span>, noted that while momentum for nuclear expansion is growing in the United States, there are concerns about gaps in skill transfer due to large-scale retirements. In particular, securing specialized technical personnel remains a challenge. She explained that efforts are underway to strengthen workforce development through partnerships with community colleges, as well as through training programs utilizing digital twins, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR).<\/p>\n

Differences in how each country perceives these challenges also became apparent. SUZUKI Kiyoteru<\/span><\/span>, General Manager of the Disaster Resilience Policy Division, Public Policy Unit at Mitsubishi Research Institute<\/span><\/span>, pointed out that in Japan, the loss of construction experience has reduced opportunities for knowledge transfer. He emphasized the need to quantify workforce supply-demand gaps and to visualize job categories, noting that while initial analysis has focused on electric utilities, it should be expanded to include manufacturers and suppliers.<\/p>\n

MIMAKI Hidehito<\/span><\/span>, Executive Vice President and Head of Nuclear Energy Systems at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries<\/span><\/span>, introduced efforts to expand recruitment, while noting that approximately 70% of engineers are graduates of non-nuclear disciplines. He explained that initiatives such as technical training programs for industrial high schools and plant tours are being implemented to secure skilled workers, but securing high school-level technical personnel remains a key challenge going forward.<\/p>\n

In the latter half of the session, panel discussions largely converged on the themes of \u201cworkforce\u201d and \u201csupply chain.\u201d A particularly notable point was made by Bard, who argued that \u201cthe core issue is not a shortage of people, but the system,\u201d emphasizing the importance of a clear government roadmap combined with education and on-the-job training. Hultman, in contrast, stressed that the presence of concrete projects is essential for workforce development to function, noting that \u201cwithout visible work, people will not enter the field.\u201d Suzuki highlighted that in Japan, workforce shortages are particularly severe in the lower tiers of the supply chain, such as components and materials, and called for measures that take this layered structure into account. Mimaki also emphasized that a clear long-term outlook is indispensable for securing human resources, pointing out that Japan lacks a sufficiently long-term and quantitative roadmap for nuclear policy, and that clarifying the roles of industry, government, and academia is essential.<\/p>\n

Regarding knowledge transfer, participants pointed to the importance of standardizing work processes and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also introduced a new initiative using generative AI to visualize differences in performance between experienced and less experienced workers.<\/p>\n

Differences in approaches to overseas procurement were also highlighted. While the French side emphasized the importance of local partnerships, the U.S. side indicated continued reliance on international supply chains. From the Japanese perspective, participants stressed that rebuilding construction systems through domestic projects should serve as the foundation.<\/p>\n

In closing, Professor Obara noted that the discussion contained many important insights and emphasized the need for industry, government, and academia to work together to strengthen the human resource base.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the outset, moderator OBARA Toru, Professor at the Laboratory for Zero-Carbon Energy, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo, pointed out that since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the halt in new nuclear build in Japan has made it increasingly difficult to secure human resources. At the same time, the aging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1361,495,990,352,1464,67,629,1465,1466,189,1042,498,678,1467,1378,875,570,760,1463,1383],"class_list":["post-7794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-ai","tag-france","tag-gifen","tag-hrd","tag-institute-of-science-tokyo","tag-jaif","tag-jaif-annual-conference","tag-job","tag-knowledge-transfer","tag-mhi","tag-mri","tag-nea","tag-nei","tag-obara","tag-recruitment","tag-supply-chain","tag-tokyo-institute-of-technology","tag-us","tag-workforce","tag-workforce-development"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7796,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7794\/revisions\/7796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaif.or.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}