Next phase at Hinkley to create 1,200 jobs
THE next phase of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will create 1,200 new jobs and 300 apprenticeships, it has been announced.
Energy giant EDF said mechanical, electrical, heating-ventilation and airconditioning work (MEH) will support firms across Britain.
Part of the scheme will see a welding centre of excellence open in Bridgwater, the closest major town to the plant.
Staffordshire-based Capula and Exyte Hargreaves from Lancashire are the latest British engineering companies to create new jobs to support the next phase of construction at the site.
Their 80 new engineering posts are a part of the expected 1,200 new jobs and 300 apprentices to join the 4,000-strong workforce who will fit electrical systems, cables and pipes.
A new welding centre in Bridgwater is supported by the MEH Alliance, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), the Weldability SiF Foundation and South West Institute of Technology and Bridgwater & Taunton College.
The centre plans to train and qualify 350 to 500 welders a year, benefiting people and industries across the South
West of England and beyond.
Simon Parsons, programme director of the latest phase, said: “In this next major chapter for our project, the MEH phase will join together hundreds of small and large companies from across Britain.
“Together we are delivering on our promise to build Britain’s industrial capability by creating new jobs and skills.
“Development of a near-identical power station at Sizewell C will bring further opportunities for our extensive and experienced British supply chain.”
The scheduled date for the first Hinkley unit to be operating is 2025, with the second unit around a year later.
The power station, which is costing more than £21 billion to build, will power six million homes.
The timing of the announcement has given Britain’s battered job market a boost, as firms across Britain have been shedding jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic and the unwinding of the furlough scheme.