Career Options
Rewarding careers in nuclear aboundOntario’s looming energy crisis and an upcoming wave of retiring energy workers will lead to a boost in demand in the nuclear power labour market, and more and more women are taking note of the career opportunities. SHARON ASCHAIEK |
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 [ 2006-07-12 ] |
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Carol LeNestour, control room shift supervisor.
A May 2006 survey of 500 women conducted by Women in Nuclear (WiN) Global, a worldwide association of women working in nuclear energy and radiation, found that women are aware of the many benefits of nuclear employment, including competitive pay, job stability, personal growth and opportunities for career advancement.
“In nuclear, there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity and an environment where you can really carve out your own niche, make an impact and have a good career,” says Susan Brissette, a WiN global board member, founder of WiN’s Canada chapter and a Change Leadership executive at Bruce Power.
Indeed, as with many trades, work in nuclear can be quite profitable, even right at the start. At Bruce Power, starting salaries range from $90,000 to $120,000 for engineers and $60,000 to $80,000 for draftspersons.
As well, contrary to popular belief, employment opportunities in nuclear are diverse and don’t necessarily require an aptitude for science. Bruce Power’s 3,700-employee workforce, for example, includes nurses, road clearers, project managers and human resources personnel in addition to the traditional roles of nuclear operators, engineers, electricians and mechanical millwrights.
“One thing people don’t realize is Bruce Power is a small city unto itself. Aside from power generation, we have all the other personnel you’d need to support a workforce of our size, so there are a wide variety of job opportunities available,” Brissette says.
At Bruce Power, employees also enjoy the security of working in a variety of jobs at one workplace. Shirley Hayes, a 20-year employee at the company, has worked in several different positions, including mechanical maintainer — the company’s first woman in that position — procedure writer, facilitator, HR executive and audio video worker.
“To be able to try many different career paths within the same company and enjoy consistent benefits is great,” Hayes says. In her current role as work management co-ordinator, Hayes oversees the company’s emergency site generators and HVAC facilities and collaborates with maintenance, engineering and operations staff to ensure their long-term functionality.
She says a key highlight of working at Bruce Power is living in the neighbouring town of Kincardine, a tight-knit Lake Huron community featuring miles of sandy beach and quick access to the Bruce Peninsula and cottage country.
“Just recently my husband and I were walking along the boardwalk and saying to each other, ‘We’re so lucky.’ It’s a great place to bring up my kid, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” she says.
Currently, Brissette says, women make up about 25% of the Canadian nuclear workforce, and about 20% of the workforce at Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation. Brissette is working hard at boosting those numbers, and with good reason: over the next five years, she says, a third of Bruce Power’s employees will be eligible to retire.
Employment trends
The situation is in line with wider employment trends across Canada: the Conference Board of Canada estimates that by 2020, Canada could be short about one million workers, partly due to an aging population.
But demand for skilled tradespeople is only going to increase. Skills Canada - Ontario, a non-profit that promotes trades opportunities to youths, reports that in the next two decades, 40% of new jobs will be in the skilled trades and technologies, compared to 20% in 1998.
Many of those jobs will be in nuclear, which the Ministry of Energy expects to be the single largest source for the province’s electricity in 2025. To avert an energy crisis, the government is working to create an additional 2,500 to 3,000 megawatts of additional generating capacity, and is investing in nuclear power as part of its $40-billion energy plan.
“The demand for energy won’t go down; it will only increase,” Brissette says, “and it will create ongoing demand for people who want to build a career within the generation sector.”
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