Hundreds of engineers to receive special training to design upgraded nuclear weapons facilities


Nuclear option: Aldermaston will begin a £1bn modernisation programme over the next three years

Nuclear option: Aldermaston will begin a £1bn modernisation programme over the next three years


Hundreds of civil engineers are to be retrained as nuclear specialists for a £1bn programme to modernise the nuclear weapons facilities at Aldermaston, Berkshire.

The government’s Atomic Weapons Establishment has signed up Atkins, and is understood to be talking to four other firms about upgrading the facilities that produce warheads for Trident missiles. These are Amec NNC – the nuclear branch of Amec, acquired in January, RWE Nukem, Jacobs Babtie and Mott MacDonald.

The modernisation programme, to which defence secretary John Reid has committed £350m a year for the next three years, is to refurbish laboratories, testing facilities, support offices and infrastructure, much of which dates back to the 1950s.

The programme will put the five firms in a strong position to win work if the government goes ahead with a second wave of nuclear power stations to replace those constructed after the Second World War.

Atkins is to expand its nuclear capability and aims to have 300 nuclear specialists on its books. It intends to create these by means of a programme of “nuclear conversion courses” to retrain some of its existing civil engineers.

Paul Dollin, Atkins’ head of nuclear services, said the firm had decided to invest in training because of the absence of appropriate skills in the sector.

He said: “Across the patch generally there is a shortage of skills that have a focus on delivery. There are plenty of good quality civil engineers who have never set foot on a nuclear-licensed site and are therefore not SQEP – Suitably Qualified Experienced Personnel. This is a big job and we’ll be needing more designers.”

This is a big job and we’ll be needing more designers

Paul Dollin, Atkins

Of the five companies, Atkins, Amec and RWE are best placed to bid for the second generation of nuclear power stations, which are expected to be given the green light next year. Their design responsibilities are termed “category three”, and will involve drawing up plans for the most sensitive stages of the nuclear process. A source close to Amec NNC said it would take on more staff if it landed a contract.

Mott MacDonald will design offices, which is designated category one work, whereas the Babtie arm of Jacobs Babtie will undertake design work for facilities, which is classified as category two.

Jacobs Engineering UK, part of the Jacobs Babtie Group, has also been appointed as a managing agent of the capital works to be carried out at the 263 ha Aldermaston complex as well as the nearby Burghfield base. It will oversee the design process and manage the construction process when it begins.

A spokesperson for the Atomic Weapons Establishment said it was looking at potential contractors.

The spokesperson said: “In July the secretary of state for defence announced a package of investment to upgrade the facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

“We are still in the early stages of the work with a focus on the design of the buildings. It is our intention to engage with five UK design practices. To date we have entered into contracts with three companies, of which Atkins is one. We are not currently in a position to name the other two.”

John Pritchard, Atkins’ AWE director, said: “We will be making a very significant contribution to Atomic Weapons Establishment’s modernisation and refurbishment programme, investing further in an important client for us.”