Training the new nuclear workforce.

• Position: NEXT GENERATION IN EDUCATION

Due to an aging workforce, by this time next year up to 160,000 workers will be needed in the electricity sector, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).

Data from the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness indicates that about 37,000 people work at the seven licensed reactors in four operating nuclear power plants in the Carolinas, as well as in the plants' supply chain.

The NEI reports that nuclear plant workers earn about 36% more than average local salaries. For instance, the median salary for an electrical technician at a nuclear plant is $67,571; for a mechanical technician, $66,581; and for a reactor operator, $77,782. In the Carolinas the entire industry generates more than $2.3 billion in wages.

To train a new workforce, technical schools, community colleges and universities in both North and South Carolina have stepped up with expanded curricula. Here's a sample of how these schools are preparing a new generation of nuclear experts.

Clemson University

In addition to its undergraduate programs in environmental, mechanical and electrical engineering, Clemson recently strengthened its graduate school of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences by naming Timothy DeVol the university's new Toshiba Endowed Professor of Nuclear Engineering.

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According to Clemson assistant professor Brian Powell, students in the program are trained to tackle problems related to protecting the health of people and the environment as nuclear power is used and waste disposed.

After obtaining a civil engineering degree, Powell says Clemson students can take graduate courses in the science and engineering of radiation protection. "They can become certified health physicists, which are in pretty high demand right now both at power plants as well as Savannah River Site, which needs several a year," Powell said.

Clemson is building an online radiation detection class in which students can log in and measure samples in real time. Powell says this initiative is part of a collaboration with S.C. State University.

Upon completing a master's or doctorate degree in the program, Powell says the majority of graduates take jobs at consulting firms that handle mediation of radioactive waste.

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina has its sights set on educating engineers who will develop and manage the resurgent nuclear industry in research, design and operation.

At the suggestion of its...