Nuclear plans offer major employment opportunities

16/04/2009

New plans to develop 11 nuclear power plants across England and Wales are set to provide a major boost to the availability of construction jobs.

Ministers have outlined plans to deliver a new generation of nuclear power that will be able to replace much of the current reliance on fossil fuels such as coal-fired power stations.

Nuclear power plants have been proposed for development on range of sites, including near the existing Sellafield plant in Cumbria, as well as at the Sizewell facility in Surrey.

Other locations that could see a massive increase in construction recruitment as a result of the plans will be Kent, Lancashire and north Wales.

According to the East Anglian Daily Times, the development of new nuclear facilities in Suffolk and Essex could deliver over 1,000 new job vacancies to the region.

"Nuclear power is part of the low-carbon future for Britain," said energy and climate change minister, Ed Miliband.

He added: "It also has the potential to offer thousands of jobs to the UK and multi-million pound opportunities to British businesses."

The government's proposals have proved controversial, however. The Scottish Executive has criticised the scheme, with first minister Alex Salmond claiming renewable energy such as wind and wave power are the way forward.

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