A mining infrastructure chief is confident Australia can develop the right workforce for a nuclear power industry.
During a recent Senate inquiry into nuclear power in the country, Bob McCosker, the director and founder of McCoskers Contracting, with 40 years of experience in the industry, addressed concerns about the lack of manpower.
Using the example of some LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects that his company has worked on, McCosker, said recruitment should not be an issue. McCoskers is located in central Queensland and specialises in earthworks and mining infrastructure.
“Where did the skills come from?” he asked.
“Our business had a major part in one of those projects. We were yet flying people from New Zealand. We were bringing them from Western Australia.”
The director added that Australia could attract experienced workers from the United States with higher wages.
“You would be bringing in skills from America. A lot of that [construction work] was done by … Bechtel. Bechtel built the last nuclear power plant in America,” he said.
“Americans earn a lower wage than Australians. So, bringing those skills over is not a problem.”
Meanwhile, David Nunn, the general manager of another central Queensland company, scaffolding and rigging company High Risk Solutions, said Australia had good nuclear expertise and a strong labour supply.
“There are a lot of people who are Australians overseas working in the nuclear industry who would love to come home,” he said.
Nunn said the biggest problem with building nuclear power stations in Australia was red tape.
He added that construction speed would accelerate once the country successfully built its first facility.
Training Young People in the Nuclear Industry
Nunn also suggested that if Australia lifted the ban on nuclear power, young people could be trained in the nuclear industry.He said his company had run some employment programs for youth and found that many young people were pro-nuclear.
“[We] ask them: have you thought about going into [the nuclear] industry?
“And they say to us: there’s a ban on it, it’s not worth it.
“But when you explain to them that Canada employs over 70,000 union jobs in the nuclear sector, whether it be medical or energy, some of the kids start listening to conversations about the AUKUS.”
AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK, and the United States, which allows Australia to possess nuclear-powered submarines.
Nunn believed it would be possible to train a nuclear workforce in Australia, though there was a need to have a sensible conversation about nuclear without getting scared.
“I believe that Australia is a very transient workplace, and I feel that we can build a supply chain with a lot of young people and older people,” he said.
“I don’t think training for Australians is going to be a problem because Australians generally want great jobs. There’s a lot of well-paid jobs in the nuclear industry.”
