The need for transerable skills within the nuclear sector has always been a bugbear of mine and I am sure that NASN  had the very best of intentions when they launched of The Award for Nuclear Industry Awareness which is an e-learning programme designed for people who are looking to move to the nuclear industry from another sector.  The press release announcing the launch says:  “Due to the ageing workforce, new entrants need to be attracted to the sector with urgency.  With the Government’s commitment to effective decommissioning, defence and now continuing the future of nuclear power generation, the nuclear sector is once again an exciting employment option, with many long term career prospects. The e-Learning option provides people with the opportunity to study at their own pace and at times which suits their lifestyle, enabling people from outside of the industry to study alongside their current employment or family commitments, providing them with the knowledge that they need to aid in their chosen career choice with the nuclear sector.”  That’s all well and good but let’s take the case of an engineer who may be thinking of a career in the nuclear sector. He or she finds the website – reads about the award and then clicks the link which takes them to the taster session. It reads: “Methods of reducing exposure to radiation…In this section we will look at the methods of reducing exposure to radiation and the type of shielding required.”  All those good intentions count for nothing when the taster session takes you right back to “Edge of Darkness”. Obviously the nuclear environment has its own unique health and safety issues and they have to be addressed but for those engineers who may have a limited understanding of the sector, it’s not a great attraction technique! Look out for my article on this topic in the next issue of Nuclear Engineering International