Nuclear talent gap a ‘big missing element’ amid world’s excitement for atomic power

SINGAPORE – As the world scales up its nuclear energy ambitions, the big missing element is not so much finance or political momentum, but having enough people to run and design the reactors, said nuclear expert Michael Short from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Data has shown that there is only one newcomer for every five nuclear engineers retiring in the US – the country with the largest nuclear fleet globally at nearly 100 plants, said the professor of nuclear science and engineering.

“I liken (nuclear) to medicine, where it’s something that’s big, dangerous, expensive, and then making sure that (the employees) are properly compensated. Because for somebody to choose nuclear as a job, they need to see a secure future,” said Professor Short on Oct 30.

He was speaking on a panel at the Singapore International Energy Week’s Thinktank Roundtable on the evolving role of nuclear energy.

The panel was moderated by The Straits Times environment journalist Chin Hui Shan at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

More than 30 countries – including France, Japan and the US – have pledged to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, as part of efforts to decarbonise.

Singapore has not made a decision to go nuclear, but is actively laying the groundwork to see if this energy form could become viable for the country in the future.

The inter-governmental Nuclear Energy Agency chief had said in 2023 that the talent base in the nuclear field is extremely thin, making the threat of not having enough educated and trained professionals around to design and operate future nuclear fleets a huge challenge.

The newly launched Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute aims to train 100 nuclear experts by 2030 – up from around 50 today.

Prof Short is hoping that by the time these experts are ready to join the workforce, there would be sufficient jobs available for them in Singapore.

This could include tech and safety analysts and specialists who can advise on the types of nuclear tech the country can invest in.

“You don’t want to lose all the people who are (seeing) the nuclear renaissance happening everywhere and want to get involved. And then you lose them to finance,” he told ST after the panel discussion.

Prof Short said that if Singapore were to decide to go nuclear, it would become a “strategic national interest” to have nuclear-related job positions ready, so that the talents do not leave the sector.

“You need a place to keep the people warm till the country is ready... You don’t want to miss this first wave of excited talent because it may or may not come again.”

He added that nuclear experts in Singapore should be paid well.

“It’s a speciality which involves domain expertise... and in nuclear, there is danger to it. What we pay doctors, we ought to be paying highly specialised engineers similar,” said Prof Short.

“If we don’t, they’ll likely seek other forms of employment outside the sector. Every talented person interested in nuclear is a gift who we should not let slip away.”

Apart from building up talent, finance and regulatory issues amid the new age of nuclear were also discussed at the roundtable panel on Oct 30.

Ms Lee McDonough, director general of the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, noted that several new nuclear reactors in Europe have been plagued by significant cost overruns and construction delays.

For example, Britain’s Hinkley Point C nuclear station is expected to open five years later in 2030 than originally planned, due to political and supply chain problems.

The project’s estimated cost had risen to £46 billion (S$78 billion) from the £18 billion predicted in 2017, the BBC reported in 2024.

To tackle this, she cited how the British government has decided to invest significantly in nuclear plants and share the risk with the private sector to bring in the investment.

In July 2025, the government announced that it will take a 44.9 per cent stake in the upcoming Sizewell C nuclear plant in the county of Suffolk.

The UK also introduced a nuclear financing law in 2022 which allows the construction of nuclear power plants to be financed through charges on electricity consumers.

“This means that financial flow starts coming in earlier to help offset construction risks,” said Ms McDonough.