Future of Welsh nuclear jobs hinges on Wylfa decision

Wales has lost a third of its nuclear workforce over the past decade, with industry leaders warning that only a new project at Wylfa can reverse the decline.

The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) says a decision on developing the Anglesey site is “crucial” to securing thousands of skilled jobs and billions of pounds in investment.

According to the NIA’s latest Jobs Map, Wales’s nuclear workforce now stands at 974 – up from 827 last year, largely due to growth at Boccard in Broughton, which is manufacturing components for the Sizewell C project in Suffolk.

Record low

Despite this, the overall number remains far below the 1,468 people employed a decade ago, reflecting the absence of a new build project in Wales. On Ynys Môn, home to Wylfa, nuclear jobs have dropped to a record low of 307 – less than half the 795 recorded in 2015.

By contrast, England has seen rapid growth. In the last year alone, its nuclear workforce has increased by 11,000 – a 13% rise – driven by investment in Sizewell C and Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactor programme. Over the past decade, the workforce in England has surged from 58,000 to 92,000.

In May 2024, the Conservative Government had confirmed Wylfa as the preferred site for a major new nuclear power development.

This followed an announcement by then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his March Budget of a £160 million deal with Hitachi to purchase the Wylfa site and the Oldbury site in South Gloucestershire as two possible sites for new nuclear projects.

Hitachi pulled the plug on a project to build a nuclear power station on Ynys Môn three years ago, despite pumping £2 billion into the development.

Wylfa’s twin reactor Magnox nuclear power station stopped generating power at the end of 2015 and has been decommissioned.

Decommissioning currently sustains most of the nuclear jobs in Wales, with more than 300 roles linked to Trawsfynydd and over 200 to Wylfa A.

No-brainer

Ynys Môn MP Llinos Medi has urged the UK Government to make a clear and urgent commitment to the Wylfa nuclear site, describing its development as “a no-brainer” for ensuring energy security and creating much-needed jobs in north Wales.

She also called on the Labour government to “reconsider” its decision to remove Wylfa as a “preferred site” for nuclear development in its national policy statement, warning that such a move could confuse developers and slow down the progress needed at Wylfa.

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the NIA, said: “A new nuclear project at Wylfa would be the single biggest boost to Welsh jobs in a generation. It would create thousands of long-term skilled roles, bring billions in investment to local communities, and provide clean, reliable power for the whole of Wales. It’s crucial that the UK Government, backed by the Welsh Government, commits to delivering a new project at Wylfa.”

Potential

Joining calls for new opportunities at the site is electrical engineer Kieron Salter, originally from Llangefni but now working at Hinkley Point C. He said: “Having grown up on Ynys Môn with Wylfa on my doorstep, I know the potential it has to transform opportunities for young people.

“One day, I hope to return home and put the skills I’ve developed at Hinkley into a new Welsh nuclear project.”

Opponents of the return of nuclear power generation to the island include the group People Against Wylfa B (Pawb). Dylan Morgan from the organisation highlighted concerns on both safety and costs grounds.

He told Nation.Cymru: “Nuclear power is dangerous, dirty, outdated, a huge threat to environmental and human health as the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters have shown, and extortionately expensive.”