STEP up for skills in the Western Gateway
Organisations supporting the Western Gateway’s Severn Edge bid to bring the UK’s STEP programme to the area, gathered recently to discuss how the programme could improve skills in the area. James Cooke, Western Gateway's Deputy Director, reflects on why this is such an important part of the Severn Edge bid.
Bringing the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) STEP programme (STEP - Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (ukaea.uk)) to the Western Gateway has always been about more than just Fusion. It’s also about people.
STEP is the UK’s flagship programme to prove the commercial viability of fusion, which recreates the reaction in our sun and stars to create clean and almost unlimited energy.
Our site, Severn Edge (Bro Hafren), which is in the final five sites still under consideration, is ready to deliver on developing this potential ultimate low carbon energy solution for the world. We have access to the necessary high temperature scientists, leading digital engineering, cyber, robotics and advanced manufacturing expertise right on the doorstep and access to important supply lines from across the area.
Placing STEP here, would also provide an opportunity to level up communities across Western England and South Wales creating an extra £3.5 billion of output, £1.3 billion in GVA and more than 30,000 jobs across the union.
Why building skills are important to our area
Despite having a highly skilled workforce there are significant areas within an hour of the proposed site which are at increasing risk of being left behind.
The site sits within and nearby two counties that have been highlighted in the Government’s levelling up white paper as being educational “cold spots”, in need of improved opportunities to inspire local children to achieve. It also sits among many areas with high levelling up priorities and levels of deprivation.
STEP would help to provide the ignition to revive areas on both sides of the Severn which have seen long industrial decline.
The groundwork to make sure the area is ready to provide the future skills needed for such a project has already begun.
Training the workforce of the future
The UKAEA has stated its ambitions to deliver Apprenticeships to 1500 people by 2025 as part of the first phase in developing a prototype fusion power plant.
One of the biggest challenges of the project will be making sure the workforce of the future can be found to operate the plant and sustain a globally significant fusion industry.
UKAEA plan to have the STEP plant up and running by 2040, so it is the young people of today who we need to inspire to take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects so that they can become the researchers and operators of the fusion plant of tomorrow.
To address this, the Western Gateway partnership brought together partners from across the area to discuss how the area can best support this ambition and learn from existing programmes.
In the room were representatives from the area’s industry including Renishaw, Thales and the Cardiff Capital Region Skills Board, alongside educational organisations like the National College for Nuclear and SGS College.
We met in Berkeley University Technical College (UTC), part of the wider two site Severn Edge bid.
Berkeley UTC was established when plans for Horizon Nuclear Power to develop a new nuclear power station at Oldbury were taking shape. Despite the set-back of that project ceasing, the College is attracting students from a 2-hour travel catchment across both sides of the Severn and is achieving particularly high employment rates, immersed as it is, amongst nuclear and engineering businesses on the South Gloucestershire and Stroud College site.
The discussion highlighted several other strengths that we have in our area:
- Berkeley UTC is already leading the way in developing the necessary skills with partnerships with key national organisations like the National College for Nuclear.
- We have a proven ability to inspire primary school age children with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, through the long-term efforts of local employers and projects like the Bloodhound land speed record vehicle which toured schools and provoked a sharp uptake in STEM courses.
- Severn Edge presents opportunities to quickly develop education facilities with the expertise and infrastructure already in place ready to go.
- Our institutions understand the importance of ensuring learning is accessible to diverse communities. Berkely UTC, which specialises in STEM subjects, provides support to neurodiverse learners in partnership with a local mental health organisation to help ensure children are supported to access future engineering careers.
The team concluded a wide-ranging discussion by recognising the extraordinary capacity of industry across the Western Gateway geography and the ability it has shown to attract and retain talent. Despite the great facilities that already exist, the area still needs a large scale project to level up communities across the union – STEP is that opportunity.
The message was clear; that Severn Edge stands ready to lead the UK into this next chapter of cleaner, greener, energy technology and has the expertise and appetite to support the UK Government ambition to win the race to sustainable commercial fusion power. Find out more about the Severn Edge nomination here.
