Ready to hire: in the nuclear industry - careers are available.

In the Carolinas there are some 37,000 employees who are part of the nuclear energy generation network. For decades they have kept the lights on for the rest of us.

The nuclear industry faces an issue similar to other industries - the coming turnover in the aging workforce and finding new people to help the industry grow. Good people are needed.

As a nation we are part of a multi-national workforce paradox. A Manpower Group 2011 study says, "The world stands on the brink of a global employability crisis - an over-supply of available workers and an under-supply of qualified talent." It says one in three employers worldwide cannot find the talent they need.

The 2011 Towers Watson Talent Management and Rewards Survey, a study of 316 North American companies, says this in a news release: "Nearly six out of 10 U.S. companies (59%) reported problems attracting critical-skill employees this year. That is an increase from 52% last year and 28% in 2009. Forty-two percent also reported difficulty attracting top-performing employees. Additionally, more than one-third (36%) reported difficulty retaining critical-skill employees, an increase from 31 % last year and 16% in 2009."

Jobs are evolving. "In 1991, fewer than 50% of U.S. jobs required skilled workers. By 2015, 76% of U.S. jobs will require highly skilled workers, e.g., those with special skills in science, technology, engineering, or math," says the American Society of Training and Development. Unskilled jobs have been shipped overseas.

It's easy to sec the trend. The skills crisis is here. Now. It's been documented in many places.

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In "Preparing North Carolina's Workforce and Businesses for the Global Economy," a June 2011 report: "At least 42%, perhaps many more, of the new jobs being created in North Carolina will require at minimum some post-secondary education, many in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math--STEM--disciplines."

Nationwide, with a potential 30% retirement rate in five years in the nuclear ranks, 25,000 more workers may be required by 2015. The Manpower Group's top four "hardest to fill jobs globally" already include three critical to nuclear energy: engineers, skilled trades and technicians. Add this to the mix: American universities annually graduate some 60,000 engineers to serve all industries.

A McKinsey report, "An Economy That Works," frames it up: "Despite rising educational attainment and large investments by the federal government in...