Collaborative ReTek Exchange: An Innovative Solution to the Skills and Resource Shortage in the Nuclear Industry

A Different Approach to the Skills and Resource Shortage The Nuclear Industry has for many years been concerned about a skills and resource shortage. This has been due to a poor perception of the industry by those on the outside, highly competitive industries vying for the same resource pool, a steep retirement curve for highly qualified staff and a lack of graduates entering industry. Here in the UK the creation of the National Skill Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) has put in place a framework to record skills and look to accredit the training providers in the nuclear industry to ensure that the correct skills for the future are available. This has gone some way to solving the skills problem and developing a well recognised accredited system but what about resource — where are the additional qualified resources going to be found? Part of the Solution – A Resource Exchange. How do we solve the skills shortage? We come together as an industry and share the available resource through a collaborative resource exchange. It has been done before in the IT industry when rates for specialists hit £1500 per day and recruitment agencies were charging extortionate fees for providing temporary resource. ReTek Consulting have developed the ReTek Resource Exchange to provide a neutral collaborative platform across the supply chain; from large scale infrastructure companies and joint venture platforms through to small companies and independent consultants. Using the ReTek Exchange permanent staff are made available to work for others during periods of underutilisation. Links with similar highly regulated industries enable further management of peaks and troughs and a growth in experienced nuclear professionals through focused training and development. The Benefits of the ReTek Exchange are: • Increased utilisation of your current workforce. • Shared cost of permanent staff. • Speedy access to staff available in your region. • Reduced need for contract or agency staff. • Access to wider skills & experience. • Retention of key staff through personal development. • Knowledge and experience transfer. Now is the time in the industry to make the most of the available resource and work together to ensure the required growth through training and development of all workers. The infrastructure required to make this resource exchange possible is available and proven many times. This paper will talk through the story of the development of the ReTek Exchange in the UK and how the same system can be used elsewhere in the world.